Back from the Dead
by Sapphire5
Summary: Finished. Sequel to Industry of Intrigue.
1. Trouble

Disclaimer:

All characters affiliated with JQ: TRA are owned by Hanna Barbara. No infringement of copyrights are intended. This is a work of fiction written by a fan for other fans' enjoyment. No money was made off of this fic.

Warnings:

Overall Rating of PG. Contains mild language, and some mature themes, and mild violence. (Honestly, there isn't anything worse than what you might find in a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery.)

A Note From the Author:

Second in a series, this is the sequel to "Industry of Intrigue" which was originally featured on Suze Howe's JQ:TRA Archive. If you're familiar with my Fushigi Yugi fan fiction, don't expect this piece to be anything like it! This story is part of a collection of stories I began in my early college experience, three years prior to even beginning work on "Oracles of the Four Gods". Obviously, as this predates "Oracles", the writing quality is of a lower standard. Every author has to start somewhere. If you know JQ:TRA, you might find my little stories fun. You will not, however, find it to be astounding, remarkable, or otherwise profound. How is that for humbling myself? ((^_^)) ~Sapphire

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

Back from the Dead

By: Sapphire (SapphireWings)

Chapter One: Trouble

March 2000

Location: Acosta, Connecticut

Maggie Hardy felt the need to look over her shoulder. For weeks she had felt like someone was constantly watching her. Everywhere she went she could feel eyes on her back, and when she turned around, there was nothing unusual there. _"Only eight o'clock,"_ she thought as she walked through the campus common under the glowing lamps. _"You're being paranoid, stupid. There are plenty of people around."_ Her eyes darted around looking into the shadows for any lurking strangers, despite her mental lecture to herself. There was no one, as usual.

She sighed with relief when she finally reached her residence hall. She went through the front entrance, and took the stairs on the left up to her floor. When she had made it to her door, she glanced back the way she had come out of habit. A tall man with black hair, apparently in his early twenties, stepped through the stairwell door. He looked at her, but turned down the other hallway. Shrugging off an eerie feeling, Maggie unlocked her door and went inside. The first thing she did was pick up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hi, Mrs. Hovand, this is Maggie. Is my brother home?" She waited for a response. "Oh, he didn't tell me he was going on a trip. It wasn't important anyway. I just felt like talking to him is all." Maggie chit-chatted with Abigail Hovand, her twin brother's adopted mother, for a while before hanging up the phone. Any familiar voice was a comfort to her.

Despite the phone call, the eerie feeling was still with her; she couldn't seem to shake it. It crossed her mind to call her uncle and cousin up in Maine, but she remembered they were out of the country, in Nigeria. The only person that would be at home was Mrs. Evans, the housekeeper.

To ease her mind, Maggie grabbed a towel and her pajamas and headed for the floor's large bathroom. A hot shower would relax her, she knew. Water poured down on her as she washed her sandy blonde hair, which fell just below her shoulders, and she could feel the tensions of the day wash away with the soap. She felt better already. As soon as she dried off and put her pajamas on, she went back to her room to catch a television program she liked.

Once inside the room, she flipped on the light and hung her towel on the towel rack. She glanced at the desk to locate the television remote, but what she saw instead frightened her. Her letter opener had been stabbed through a little stuffed animal, and there was a note attached. She looked around the room apprehensively. 

Her closet was open, as usual, no one was hiding there. No one could possibly fit under the bed, it was too low to the ground. There was no other concealed place to hide. Who ever had been there was gone. Sure now that she wasn't stepping into some kind of trap, she approached the desk and read the note. _"Check your messages,"_ was all it said. Maggie glanced at her phone and answering machine. It was blinking crazily. There were lots of messages. She tentatively pressed the play button.

"Hi, Maggie, this is Tabitha. I was wondering when you were going to turn in your graphics for the paper. The editors need it right away. Let me know ASAP." She had been expecting that call. She had sent the graphics that afternoon to the editors of the school paper. The machine beeped, and the next message began to play.

"Yeah, Maggie, just wondering if you wanted to grab supper with me. Guess not. Bye." Maggie recognized the voice of her friend Will. That could not possibly be what the note had meant for her to hear.

"Maggie, it's me," she heard her brother's voice. "I had to leave for Peru today. It was a last minute thing. I'll call you when I get there and can get to a phone. As Mother says, I'm off to save the world again. Later." Maggie smiled ruefully. Abigail had already told her that.

"Hi, It's Sally from your American Lit class. I was just wondering if I could get today's notes from you. Call me back and let me know." Maggie couldn't help but roll her eyes. Sally was always loosing assignments and sheets of notes, then calling around trying to get a copy from someone. The machine beeped again as it moved to the next message.

"Maggie. I know where you are. I know where you go. You can't escape me," a breathy, semi-familiar voice said. Maggie's hands started shaking. "You won't know when, you won't know where, but it will happen. You can't escape- this time." The machine clicked off.

Maggie grabbed the phone and dialed a number. She waited as the phone on the other end rang. Finally someone picked up. "Yes?" asked a half-asleep voice.

"Mrs. Evans," Maggie said urgently, "I'm so sorry to wake you. This is Dr. Quest's niece, Maggie. When is Uncle Benton going to return?"

"Why, hello," Mrs. Evans said, more awake than before. "Good to hear from you. Dr. Quest will be returning in a few days. Why do you ask?"

"Would it be all right if I came up to Rockport and stay until he gets back? Please don't ask why, I'll explain when I get there tomorrow morning," Maggie pleaded.

"Of course, come whenever you like," Mrs. Evans said kindly. "It is rather lonesome here without a house full of people." Maggie thanked her and hung up. She went to her closet and started to pack a bag. Then she called the train station and reserved her tickets. She got dressed, and left as quickly as possible.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Maggie arrived nearly an hour before her train was scheduled to leave. She walked through the waiting area toward the doors that led to the platform where she would board her train. The place was nearly deserted, which didn't surprise her, as it was nearing midnight. It didn't help her paranoia much. She was passing the marble stairs that led up to the restaurant and gift shops when she heard a low pinging sound and saw bits of marble scatter from a tiny hole in a step. Realization struck instantly. Someone had just taken a shot at her.

Instinctively she dove behind a tall, wide pillar for protection, dropping her bag and leaving it where it fell. She flattened herself to the stone, and tried to keep quiet. Bits of stone went flying as a second bullet grazed the side of the pillar. Maggie was terrified, but she kept her cool and watched for the gunman to come into view. As long as she couldn't see him, he couldn't see her, and if he couldn't see her, he couldn't shoot her.

"That man has a gun!" shouted some startled woman from somewhere in the station.

"Everybody get down! Try to get behind something!" a man shouted a moment after. Another bullet went whizzing by the pillar. Maggie guessed the gunman was using a silencer since she couldn't hear the shots. That made him all the more deadly. The woman was now shouting hysterically.

"You there!" came the deep voice of another man. "Stop, you hear? Drop that gun! Drop it or I'll shoot!" A police or a security officer, she guessed. "Stop!" he shouted. Maggie could hear pounding footsteps approach. A figure in a dark trench coat ran past, and up the steps. At the top, he turned and got off another shot at Maggie. She had seen him pause and slipped around the other side of the pillar out of the way. The perpetrator took off again, the officer hot on his tail.

"It's safe to come out now," the first man called out. Maggie peered around the pillar, cautious of a possible second gunman, and to her surprise, saw Price Hovand jogging toward her in his Air Force uniform. "Maggie!" he exclaimed in astonishment.

"Price!" Maggie called out and ran up to him. She threw her arms around his neck, glad to see him. He clutched her tightly as she started to tremble. Now that she was safe, she could allow herself to feel her fear.

"What _are_ you doing here, Maggie?" Price asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Maggie said in a shaky voice. "You're supposed to be at the Dover Air Force Base."

"I got a leave before I get shipped off to Spagdahlem Air Base in Germany. I was on my way home," Price explained. "What about you?"

"I was going to Maine," she answered. "I'm so scared."

"Don't worry," Price said giving her another hug. "That guy won't bother you again. Probably just some random shooting." Maggie shook her head. Price looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

"There was a nasty message on my answering machine tonight. Someone is trying to kill me. That gunman was here specifically to target me," she told him.

"That's ridiculous," Price said. "Who would do that?"

"Ever since I heard the message I've been asking myself the same thing. Only one thing comes to mind."  


"What's that?"

"Something Jonny said," Maggie recalled. "It keeps running through my head. Your father." Price gave her an incredulous look. They both knew that Connor Hovand III was dead. "I know it sounds crazy, but Jonny said it wasn't impossible," Maggie defended.

"Still-" Price said.

"Anyway, I'm going to Rockport. I figure I'll be safe there with all the security at the Compound. I'll kind of hide out until Uncle Benton gets home," Maggie explained. "My train leaves in a half hour."

"I'm going with you, then," Price declared. "Your brother would kill me if I let you go alone." Maggie was about to protest, but then decided she'd rather have someone along to watch her back. "Hey- why didn't he come with you?"

"He's in Peru by now. He's busy 'saving the world' as your mother says." Price rolled his eyes at her words.

"What else is new?" Price sighed, shaking his head.

"Anyway, he flew out today before I got the nasty message," Maggie finished. They walked toward the ticket window, each carrying their duffel bags.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Location: Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, Texas

Matthew Hardy landed at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport in Texas. He had just come from Denver, one of several places on his list of connecting flights to Peru. He pulled his carry-on bag from the space beneath the seat in front of him as the plane taxied to the gate. He pulled his connecting flight tickets from the side pocket, and prepared to disembark. He wished the people at United World Aid Organization had gotten him a direct flight.

Once inside the airport, Matthew looked around for a map of the immense building. He had just come in at gate nine, and he had to catch his next plane at gate fifty-one. He had no inkling as to where to go. Spotting a pillar with the airport map, he headed for it.

To his disappointment, the gate was on the other end of the airport. It wouldn't have been so bad, except this particular airport was built in the shape of a W. He had to go past every gate between nine and fifty-one. He really hated connecting flights. With a sigh, he shouldered his bag and started his long trek.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Location: somewhere in Connecticut

Destination: Quest Compound, Maine

It was just past one in the morning. Maggie and Price sat silently on the train as it sped through Connecticut and into Vermont. Maggie was lost in thought, and wasn't aware of anything around her. She couldn't stop thinking about what Jonny had said when they were all in Minnesota. _"Could Connor Hovand still be alive?"_

"What's on your mind?" she heard Price say. She dragged herself back to reality.

"Nothing that would interest you," Maggie said.

"You never know," Price countered.

"I'd rather not say, then," Maggie replied. "_I'm better off keeping my mouth shut_," she thought.

"Well, I can't _make_ you spill it," Price said with a shrug, "but I'm not going to stop bugging you until you tell me." He gave Maggie a determined look.

"You are positively a pain," Maggie told him.

"I know," Price said mischievously.

"Can we talk about something else?" Maggie asked. Price glanced at her curiously.

"Like what?" Price replied, though somewhat reluctantly.

"How is the Air Force?"

"Fine. I just hope I don't get stuck in Germany for too long. I hate being so far away from you."

"Me?" Maggie asked, surprised.

"You, and my mother, and my brother," Price returned.

"Of course." Maggie strangely felt disappointed. She shrugged it off and didn't let herself think about it again.

"What about you? How is school?" Price was asking.

"Fine, I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well, I'm not very happy. I'm not sure why, but lately, I've been wishing I could go somewhere far away for a while."

"Don't you like school?" Price asked.

"Sure, I guess," Maggie shrugged. "I just don't know what it is, and now this," Maggie said with an absent wave of her hand.

"You have that look on your face again," Price told her, "the same one you had five minutes ago. Why won't you just tell me what's bothering you?"

"Do you really want to know?" Maggie asked. Price nodded. "Why won't you take me seriously when I say your father might be behind all this?"

"He's dead, Maggie," Price said stubbornly.

"Like Jonny said, they never confirmed the identity of the body. I've checked twice, and the FBI agents involved on the case still won't say. It's not impossible that he escaped. Why won't you consider the possibility, even for the sake of argument?" Maggie vented.

"Because he's dead. He was the only person unaccounted for," Price argued.

"The message said I wouldn't escape, _this_ time. That means this is an old enemy. The only person who ever wanted to harm me was your father. I can't ignore the possibility he could have escaped that warehouse alive. It could be deadly if I do," Maggie shot back.

"Well I can't ignore facts. He's dead," Price said again.

"Look, the last thing I want to be doing at one in the morning is arguing about this with you," Maggie said with a sigh. "I told you I didn't want to talk about it. Lets just drop it, okay?" Price studied her face a moment. Whatever he saw there, he nodded, and they slipped into silence for the rest of their journey.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Location: Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, Texas

Matthew finally made it to his gate. He looked at his watch. It was nearing one-thirty a.m. back in Connecticut. He checked the flight monitor. His connecting flight was still on time. He had about a half an hour before it came in, so he sat down to wait.

The next time he checked the monitor, his connecting flight was delayed. It wouldn't be landing for another forty- five minutes. With a sigh of frustration, Matthew got up from his chair and went in search of a snack bar that was still open. As he rounded a corner in a deserted area of the airport, Matthew felt a hard object come in contact with the back of his head. A sea of blackness washed over him, and he felt himself falling to the floor. He never felt himself hit the ground.

*JQJQJQJQ*


	2. The Race

Disclaimer:

All characters affiliated with JQ: TRA are owned by Hanna Barbara. No infringement of copyrights are intended. This is a work of fiction written by a fan for other fans' enjoyment. No money was made off of this fic.

Warnings:

Overall Rating of PG. Contains mild language, and some mature themes, and mild violence. (Honestly, there isn't anything worse than what you might find in a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery.)

A Note From the Author:

As I mentioned in an author's note from "Industry of Intrigue", if you like what you read, go ahead and let me know with a review. If you don't like my work in the JQ universe, then just don't read. I will delete flames, as I don't really care about improving this series. It is what it is. That said, I'm leaving just two chapters for your enjoyment. I'll be updating again in November. Until then! ~Sapphire

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

Back from the Dead

By: Sapphire (SapphireWings)

Chapter Two: The Race

Location: Quest Compound, Maine

"Mrs. Evans!" Maggie exclaimed when the faithful housekeeper opened the door just before noon.

"Maggie, dear!" Mrs. Evans greeted when she saw the young woman. "It's good to see you. Oh, who is this striking young man?"

"Oh, you remember Price Hovand, he's Matthew's adopted brother," Maggie reminded.

"Oh, yes!" Mrs. Evans said with a glint of recognition in her eyes. "He looks so different in that uniform, so smart and handsome." Price was blushing with embarrassment at her compliments. "Come in, come in! Don't just stand out there in this cold!" She ushered them in from the falling snow.

"I hope it isn't any trouble that Price came with. It was a last minute decision. We ran into one another at the train station." Maggie didn't want to impose on Mrs. Evans, but the good woman just smiled brightly.

"Not any trouble at all. He's welcome here same as you and your brother. Can I get you anything to eat, or maybe some hot chocolate to warm you?"

"No thank you," they both declined in unison. They laughed. Price continued. "Actually, if it wouldn't be a problem, we'd just like to take a good nap. We were both up all night."

"Of course, I should have thought of it. Up on that train and all. Maggie, your room is all ready. I'll just take a quick ten minutes to fix one up for you, Price," Mrs. Evans said. She flew up the stairs to start her task.

"I love her," Maggie said smiling. "She's wonderful. Uncle Benton was lucky to find her. What would this house do without her? It would fall to pieces, that's what it would do." Price laughed at her, and then they headed up to their rooms.

*JQJQJQJQ*

It was three o'clock when Maggie finally woke from her nap. She felt like stale bread in her rumpled traveling clothes, so she took a hot shower before going downstairs. In her fresh jeans and powder blue sweater, she energetically trotted down the steps to the living room.

"Sleep well, dear?" Mrs. Evans asked kindly, looking up from the easy chair in front of the fire where she was busy crocheting an afghan.

"I feel great," Maggie answered. "Is Price awake yet?"

"He's in the kitchen getting himself something to eat," Mrs. Evans told her. 

"Good." Maggie replied, headed that way. She paused, standing in the doorway, and turned back to Mrs. Evans. She hadn't seen the kindly housekeeper in some time. "How have you been, Mrs. Evans? And your mother?" Mrs. Evans looked up from her crocheting.

"Oh, I've been fine. Mother's been poorly since January," she said. "She's been asking me to come up and see her for some time. I haven't had the chance as yet." Maggie suddenly had an idea. She'd been thinking perhaps staying at the mansion would be too dangerous for Mrs. Evans. What if the gunman had followed her to Maine?

"Couldn't you go see her now?" Maggie asked. "Uncle Benton won't be back for a few days, and Price and I can look after the house now that we're here."

"Would you do that?" Mrs. Evans asked. "Would Dr. Quest mind?"

"Why should he?" Maggie asked. "I'm somewhat surprised he hasn't sent you to see your mother sooner."

"I haven't spoken to him about it," Mrs. Evans admitted. "He's been busy these past months, and I've been needed. I didn't feel right about asking some time off."

"You should have asked. Uncle Benton would have insisted you go. You know that," Maggie said. Mrs. Evans smiled.

"You're right at that," she agreed. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go for a few days. The family is away, and you'll be here to watch over things." Maggie nodded. "You're such a sweet girl," Mrs. Evans said to Maggie. "I will. If I go now I can make the drive up tonight." Mrs. Evans went to get ready to go home, and Maggie went to join Price in the Kitchen.

"What a difference," Maggie exclaimed, noticing his change of attire. "You certainly look more relaxed in those jeans and that sweatshirt than you did in your uniform."

"Don't you like my uniform?" Price asked with mock disappointment. "Most girls like men in uniforms." Despite his friendly teasing, Maggie could feel an undercurrent of tension left over from their argument on the train.

"Well, I am not most girls," Maggie said with a little laugh. "Anyway, I just meant that you look ready to have some fun instead of being so serious."

"What kind of fun?" Price asked, ready to take a break from the seriousness of their current situation.

"Jonny mentioned there were snowmobiles in the garage. Maybe we could take a couple out and go for a ride this afternoon. Jonny said there's a good trail through the woods on the property."

"Okay, let's go," Price grabbed the sandwich he had made and they headed for the door. "I'll let Mrs. Evans know where we're off to."

"No need," Maggie stopped him. "I gave her time off." She lowered her voice then to a whisper. "I don't want her to get hurt if someone tries to kill me again." Price stiffened slightly, but nodded. She had a point. Someone _was_ trying to kill Maggie, and neither of them wanted to see the kindly Mrs. Evans get hurt. They walked out of the kitchen and into the living room where Mrs. Evans was just pulling on her coat.

"Well, I'm off," Mrs. Evans said cheerily. "Thank you for giving me the time off. I'm so glad to be going to see my mother," she continued. "You're sure you can handle it?"

"It's our pleasure," Price said, "and don't worry about a thing. We can manage just fine." The two watched as Mrs. Evans drove down the long drive until she was well out of sight.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Maggie watched trees fly by as she led Price through the woods on her black snowmobile emblazoned with the silver and green Quest Enterprises emblem on the hood. The trail was easy to follow, so she could take the time to enjoy the forest scenery. As she crested a hill, she pulled to a stop and waited for Price to catch up on his matching snowmobile.

"What's up?" Price asked pulling off his helmet. He seemed much more relaxed than earlier. Maggie was more at ease as a result.

"How about a race?" Maggie suggested enthusiastically. "We could race down this hill and across that field down there," she pointed to the meadow at the foot of the hill, blanketed in fresh snow. "First one to the trees on the other side wins."

"You're on!" Price agreed. There was a metallic ping as something hit the running board on Maggie's snowmobile. They both looked down. "It's a bullet!" Price said in astonishment, spying the flattened silver disc lying in the dented metal. Another bullet hit the running board.

"Someone's shooting at us! Let's get the hell out of here!" Maggie exclaimed. Both helmets went on in a flash, and the snowmobiles took off down the hill with a spray of snow kicked up by the treads. As they got midway down the hill, Price started to veer off into the trees. He knew they would have a better chance of escape with the trees to help conceal and shield them. They couldn't do anything about the tracks, but they would be better off in the woods than in the open. Looking back, Price saw Maggie following his lead.

Once under the cover of the forest, they started to wind their way through the trees, hoping to confuse their pursuer. Maggie and Price zigzagged everywhere, criss-crossing their tracks as much as possible. When neither of them felt like hanging around any longer, they both headed away from the area.

Maggie kept looking behind her to see if anyone was following them. Someone had to be there somewhere. Just as she turned around a bend, she caught a glimpse of another snowmobile between the trees. It was hard to see both the rider and the machine. The rider was dressed in all white, and the snowmobile was white with no distinguishing markings. Pushing in the throttle a little more, Maggie raced ahead and caught up to Price. Catching his attention with a wave, she pointed her thumb behind them, and he took a look. Sure enough, someone was hot on their tail.

Price motioned Maggie to go one way, and himself the other. If there was only one attacker, one of them could double back and come up behind him. Maggie veered off to the right, and Price went to the left. Unfortunately for Maggie, the mysterious and deadly snowmobile decided to follow her.

Not being the most experienced rider, Maggie had a hard time outmaneuvering the person following her. She did manage to stay far enough ahead, though, so he couldn't get off a good shot. Bright sunlight just breaking through the clouds nearly blinded her. Blinking, she saw the trees were gone and she realized she was out in the open. _"This is really bad,"_ she thought to herself. _"I'm a sitting duck out here."_ She gunned the engine, heading across the field toward the trees on the other side. _"I can't believe how stupid I am,"_ she chided herself. She had managed to circle back to the meadow clearing. Wondering how close the white snowmobile was, Maggie chanced a glance back.

The white snowmobile was just coming out of the woods. Maggie was nearly half-way to the trees, but there was a long way to go. Knowing she was in danger out in the open, she swerved erratically to prevent the person in white from getting a clear shot. Unfortunately, it slowed her down, and the white snowmobile was gaining ground.

Maggie looked back again, and could feel the color drain from her face when she saw how near it was. The white snowmobile was rapidly closing the gap. Maggie looked forward to gauge how long it would take to reach the woods. With a lurch, the snow underneath the snowmobile gave way, and she felt herself go down. She had hit a deep air pocket in the snow and it was caving in beneath her.

Maggie screamed as she was flung to the ground. She sank deeply in the wet snow, and with a cry of horror, the snowmobile flipped upward, and came down on top of her, landing heavily across her body. The impact knocked the wind out of her, and she was as still as death.

The white snowmobile came to a stop a short distance from where Maggie lay in the snow. It's rider climbed off and cautiously approached, checking to see if Maggie was still alive. The person in white crouched down and looked at the girl's face through the helmet's visor.

"She looks dead," the stranger spoke into a microphone hidden inside the white helmet. "If she isn't, that thing had to have crushed her chest. It'll kill her in the end." The words were heavy with cruel satisfaction. "It's more painful to die slowly. No one can survive that impact. Dead now or later is dead just the same." The person in white smirked at the girl lying in the snow, then turned and got back on the white snowmobile idling nearby.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Price kept going until he was sure the white snowmobile was not on his trail. Whoever it was had gone after Maggie. Doubling back, Price found the place they had split up and turned in the direction Maggie had taken. He followed the two sets of tracks weaving through the trees, and felt shivers go up his spine when he saw they headed straight into the open meadow.

Stopping just inside the trees, Price looked out over the field. There was only one thing out there besides snow. It was Maggie's overturned snowmobile. He pushed in the throttle all the way and raced out to where the black machine lay, dreading to find her missing. His stomach turned when he saw Maggie was underneath the heavy machine.

"Maggie!" he shouted jumping off into the snow. "Oh, no, Maggie." He pulled off his helmet and knelt down beside Maggie's still body. He flipped up her visor. "Maggie, can you hear me?" He watched her closely, praying that she would wake up. Slowly, her eyes started to flutter open.

"Price?" she answered, her breath slow and unsteady.

"Are you in pain?" he asked worriedly. Maggie studied his worried face for a minute, then looked away. Price watched as she carefully moved individual body parts, starting with her neck and ending with her feet.

"My wrist hurts," Maggie finally answered, "and I banged my knee pretty bad, but I don't think it's too serious."

"Thank God you're not paralyzed," Price breathed with relief.

"Don't be ridiculous," Maggie said. "I'm fine." She started to squirm around like a worm under the snowmobile. "I think if you dig a little of the snow out from under me, you can just pull me out."

"Alright," Price complied, and he started to dig out the snow. When he was finished, he grabbed hold of Maggie under her arms, and pulled her easily out from under the snowmobile. "That wasn't so bad," Price said. "It looks like the snow was holding most of the snowmobile's weight." Maggie nodded, and Price stood her on her feet. She promptly staggered and fell. "Maggie!"

"I'm okay, my knee just gave out." Maggie was carefully holding her left wrist to her side, and with her right hand, was gingerly feeling around her knee. "I can't tell how bad it is," she said seeing the hole in her snowmobile pants, and the blood on her fingers, "not until I get these things off."

"We'll just have to get you back to the house right away, then," Price told her.

"Ahh!" she exclaimed as he picked her up out of the snow and carried her toward his snowmobile.

"I'm sorry," Price said setting her down on the seat, "did I hurt you?"

"No," she answered, staring up at him with wide eyes. "I just didn't expect to be picked up like that," Maggie said breathlessly. Price laughed as he put on his helmet and climbed on the snowmobile in front of Maggie. She flipped down her visor and held on tight with one arm. They sped off toward the compound.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Price carried Maggie into the house and brought her straight to the living room. He set her on the hardwood floor near the fireplace where Mrs. Evans' fire was just barely holding onto the coals. Price placed some fresh wood onto the hot coals, and soon the wood was burning brightly, giving off it's welcome warmth.

Price got himself out of his outdoor clothes, then helped Maggie out of hers. Both of their faces were grim when they saw all the blood covering Maggie's torn jeans on the right knee. "The pants have to come off," Maggie said. "I have leggings on under." Price helped Maggie stand, and she managed to take off her jeans.

Price tore the hole in her leggings to make it larger, then decided to tear it off completely from the knee down. They took a careful look at the injury. Both saw the cut was relatively deep. Maggie wondered if she should be taken to the hospital- it might require stitches.

"I don't know," Price muttered, his thoughts following the same path as Maggie's. "I've had first aid training, but this looks pretty bad." Maggie watched as he carefully cleaned and dressed the wound with gauze. He worked quickly and efficiently, and Maggie resolved she'd have to learn how to do first aid herself. "When was the last time you had a tetanus shot?"

"Last fall," Maggie said. "I shouldn't have to worry about rusty metal." Price nodded. When he finished with the knee, he moved to her left wrist. "Ow!" Maggie exclaimed the second Price touched it.

"It hurts that bad?" he asked. "Maybe we should take you to the emergency room after all."

"No," Maggie disagreed adamantly. Then she relaxed a bit. "It's not that bad. I'm just being a baby." She didn't want to leave the house. It was too dangerous. Even if her wrist was broken, she would live with the pain if she had to. "It's probably just a bad sprain," she said passing off her strong reaction.

"If you say so," Price said reluctantly. "I'll just wrap it up, then." He unrolled an ace bandage and put it around Maggie's wrist. She set her jaw and bore up to the pain bravely. When he finished, he cleaned up the mess, and dropped Maggie's blood covered jeans into the trash.

"Take me over to the wall there," Maggie said when Price was finished. "I have to turn on the security systems." Price nodded, then lifted her off the floor and helped her hobble to the wall where she had indicated. She slid open a wall panel, revealing a computer console.

"Iris, turn on all security systems, please," Maggie said to the computer, "level three."

"Identify user, please," Iris said back.

"Authorization, Maggie Hardy." She waited while the computer confirmed her voice patterns.

"Welcome to the Quest Compound, Maggie," Iris's voice greeted. "Initiating all security systems. All systems, level three, are on."

"Iris, scan for any intruders currently in the compound," Maggie said next. She waited while Iris ran the checks.

"Search negative," Iris said.

"Iris, allow no one to enter or exit except Maggie Hardy, Price Hovand, Benton Quest, Jonny Quest, Race Bannon, Jessie Bannon, and Hadji Singh."

"Allowances initiated," Iris said.

"Now I feel much better," Maggie said.

"Me too," Price added. "Now how about some supper?" Maggie nodded, and Price helped her to the couch beside the fireplace and tucked a warm blanket around her. Price went into the kitchen and brought out some hot chocolate and a plate of sandwiches. They both savored the hot drink and devoured the sandwiches, then Price found a good book to read and sat right beside Maggie on the couch. "I'll read to you, if you want," he said.

"I'd like that," Maggie replied, curling up in the corner of the couch. Price opened the book and began to read. It was filled with humorous stories, and they laughed at them, but their hearts weren't in it. As the day faded into night, Maggie drifted off to sleep, leaning against Price's arm. He smiled to himself, then settled in and fell asleep too.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Maggie awoke when she felt someone move next to her. She opened her eyes and saw Price getting more wood to add to the fire. Light was streaming in through the paned windows, and the flickering fire made her realize he had kept it going all night.

"Did you get much sleep?" Maggie asked.

"I didn't know you were awake," Price commented.

"I woke up just now," she told him. "So, did you get much sleep?" Price sighed.

"No," he said. "I kept hearing noises and getting up to check them out. I was worried that gunman would come back and try and finish what they started."

"No one can get past security," Maggie said. "Iris would warn us if there was any danger."

"I know, but I still worried." Price stretched his stiff muscles then meandered toward the kitchen.

"Going to get breakfast?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, you want me to bring you something?" he called back.

"Just some toast if you don't mind," Maggie called back. Price made some kind of affirmative noise, and Maggie carefully pulled herself up to a standing position. She wanted to go upstairs to her room and get some clean clothes on, and maybe take a shower.

"Where do you think you're going?" Price questioned as she hobbled past the kitchen doorway.

"Upstairs," she answered firmly.

"Hold on," Price said. "Not on that knee, you're not." He quickly scooped her up off the ground and started up the stairs. "You shouldn't walk on it much. The cut might reopen." They reached the top of the steps and he carried her into her room. "Call me when you're ready to come down." He turned and went back to the kitchen.

Maggie decided to take a bath, and carefully washed without getting her knee or wrist bandages wet. Then she washed her hair one handed in the sink. Refreshed, she changed into a pale yellow sweater and a pair of clean jean shorts so nothing was pressing against her knee. The throbbing in her wrist was pretty bad, so she gingerly touched it to test how it was. It hurt like hell.

__

"I hope it's not broken," Maggie thought to herself. _"Even if it is, I can't let Price know it. It's not safe to leave the compound. I just have to put up with it."_ Maggie rummaged through the medicine cabinet and found a strong pain reliever. She took two capsules, then headed for the stairs.

At the top, she called for Price, who was just finishing buttering the toast she had ordered, after fixing himself some eggs and bacon. He bounded up the steps to bring her down. Midway to the bottom, the front door opened and Jonny, Jessie, and Race came in with Bandit running behind.

"Maggie!" Jonny shouted. "What are you doing here? Why is the security at level three?" Jonny watched in confusion as Price carried his cousin the rest of the way down the stairs.

"What the Sam Hill happened to you?" Race asked curiously. Maggie blushed, embarrassed that everyone was watching her.

"There was a little accident yesterday," Price answered grimly. "Why don't we discuss it over breakfast?"

*JQJQJQJQ*


	3. The Shadow She Saw

Disclaimer:

All characters affiliated with JQ: TRA are owned by Hanna Barbara. No infringement of copyrights are intended. This is a work of fiction written by a fan for other fans' enjoyment. No money was made off of this fic.

Warnings:

Overall Rating of PG. Contains mild language, and some mature themes, and mild violence. (Honestly, there isn't anything worse than what you might find in a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery.)

A Note From the Author:

Salutations! I've apparently got some readers in the JQ universe! Hooray! I've got another two chapters coming at you this month. To my sister Stardreamer: are you reading yet? ~Sapphire

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

Back from the Dead

By: Sapphire (SapphireWings)

Chapter Three: The Shadow She Saw

Location: Quest Compound, Maine

They were all gathered around the table while Maggie and Price ate. Jonny, Race, and Jessie had eaten earlier that morning. "Where is Uncle Benton?" Maggie wondered, "and Hadji, too."

"They decided to stay in Nigeria and work out the major bugs in a system they set up for a friend of Dr. Quest's," Jessie told her. "Why?"

"I was waiting for him to get back so I could talk to him. I have this little problem. That's why I'm here in the middle of the week during my winter semester." Maggie looked to her cousin and friends. "Someone is trying to kill me. I was followed home from the library two nights ago, and I found a nasty message on my answering machine. I left for Maine right away, and someone took some pot shots at me in the train station."

"I was just getting home for a leave when I saw some maniac shooting at someone in the station," Price said. "I was pretty shocked when I found out he was shooting at Maggie, and when she explained, I came with. We took out two snowmobiles yesterday afternoon, and we were shot at on the property. Maggie had an accident, and I think the gunman stopped to check it out, there were footprints when I got there, and a snowmobile tread that was neither mine, nor Maggie's. Whoever it was probably thought she was dead. I thought she was, at first." Price's expression was grave.

"I don't know if he did or not," Maggie said as she and Price finished up their breakfasts. "I passed out or something. The next thing I remember, Price was asking me if I could hear him."

"You really are related to Jonny," Race said. "You have the same amazing dumb luck."

"Not so lucky," Maggie said, "I hurt my knee and I can hardly walk on it, and I think I badly sprained my wrist."

"I should take a look," Race said. He knelt down on the floor next to Maggie and peeled back the gauze on her knee. "That attack would explain the level three security," Race said. "Did you fix that up?" he asked Price. Price nodded. "You did a good job. I think a doctor should see it, though." Race put the gauze back in place then turned his attention to her wrist, unwrapping the ace bandage carefully. "I asked Iris who upgraded security and was surprised when she said it was you. You're supposed to be at school."

"She wasn't safe there," Price said. "Whoever it was had been in Maggie's room. She told me there was a written note on her desk. A letter opener was stuck through a stuffed animal, pinning the note there." Maggie yelped suddenly as Race lightly pressed on her bruised wrist.

"I think we should take you into the emergency room," Race said seriously. "Your wrist is broken." Price glared at her. She winced at his angry look. Jessie and Jonny looked between the two. They were sure there was going to be some yelling, but neither Price nor Maggie said a word. "Let's go, kids. Everyone comes. It's too dangerous for anyone to hang around here alone." Race carefully lifted Maggie up in his arms and carried her from the kitchen.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Several hours later, a nurse wheeled Maggie out of the emergency room. She had a fresh cast on her arm, and a brace on her knee. She looked exhausted. Maggie signed the release forms, and she was taken out to the Quest van. Race lifted her in as the nurse gave Maggie a warning.

"Remember, don't over exert yourself and be careful on that knee, especially right away."

"Yes, Nurse Mabel," she acknowledged. The others climbed into the van as Nurse Mabel gave a satisfactory nod, and they were on their way back to the Quest Compound.

"What took so long?" Jonny asked as they drove away from the emergency room doors.

"They had to practically re-break my bone because it had begun to heal wrong. They had to keep plying me with painkillers, but they didn't work, and it hurt so bad. Then they looked at my knee. My patellar ligament was partially severed in the accident. I don't remember exactly what they did about it because by that time the painkillers kicked in. I couldn't get higher if I was on Crack."

"How long do you have to wear the knee brace?" Jessie asked with a laugh.

"A couple of months, until the physical therapy I'll have to go through is over. The cast comes off in six weeks. The doctor told me not to walk on my knee for at least two weeks, and with my left wrist broken, no crutches. I hate feeling helpless," Maggie sighed dismally.

Jessie was listening to Maggie when she noticed a pair of headlights behind them reflecting in the mirror. At first she ignored them, but as they drove farther and farther from town, she paid more and more attention to them. When everyone was silent, Jessie concentrated on them to see if they would turn off somewhere.

"Dad," she said slowly, "Have you noticed the headlights behind us? I think that car is following us."

"I think you're right, Ponchita," Race said looking into the rearview mirror for the hundredth time. He, too, had noticed the headlights. "I hope everyone's wearing their seatbelt. Things might get bumpy." Maggie unconsciously pulled at her shoulder strap to make sure she was securely buckled in. Some of the others did the same. Now all eyes were on the headlights in the rearview mirror.

As the van neared a part of the road that wound along the sea cliffs, the vehicle behind them come in closer. It was gradual, so as not to look suspicious. They were already aware of it's approach. The vehicle started to inch up toward the back bumper, then started to pass the Quest van on the double yellow line.

"Oh no you don't, buddy," Race said through clenched teeth as he pressed the gas pedal to the floor. The van shot around a curve in the road, cutting off what was a large pick-up truck behind them. Race then moved the van into the center of the road to keep the pick-up from creeping up beside them.

"They're trying to run us off the road, aren't they?" Maggie asked, trying to keep her fear from her voice.

"Not if I can help it," Race declared. The speeding van neared a blind curve. Race eased the automobile into the correct lane in case anyone was coming from the other way. The driver of the pick-up took his opportunity and slid in between the cliff wall and the Quest van. The only thing separating the van from the drop to the ocean was a little cable guardrail. The pick-up slammed into the side of the van, and the van scraped along the guardrail. Race fought against the driver of the pick-up, and the pick-up relented to set up another hit.

"There's no guardrail up there!" Jessie exclaimed pointing through the windshield. "If he hit's us there, we'll go over!" Everyone looked. She was right. Someone had taken the time to rip it right out of the ground, and it dangled over the cliff.

"Hold on!" shouted Race. Slamming on the brakes, he cranked the wheel to the left. The van skidded into a turn, whipping the vehicle around, and finally stopped with a screech of the tires. The passengers looked up, amazed they had spun off the road over the cliff. Race gunned the engine, heading in the direction they had just come.

"Where are we going now?" Price asked. "How are we going to get back to the Compound?"

"We're going to beat who ever that was to the other road," Jonny said.

"Other road?" Maggie asked in confusion.

"It was built years ago, for emergency use. The entrance is just up ahead. Guess you never knew about it," Jonny said. "If we can get just far enough ahead of that truck, it will look like we disappeared. Security will keep them from coming in after us if our little disappearing act doesn't work."

Jonny watched out the back window as the pick-up turned around and came after them. The van started to go around a curve, and surprisingly, Race was slowing the van down.

"Now, Race!" Jonny shouted. Race pulled the Quest van off the road and right into the woods. Maggie turned her eyes toward the window and looked out. They were among the evergreen trees, and the trees became more and more dense as they drove on. Race drove on the narrow, snow covered drive until they were beyond sight of the highway. Race stopped and cut the engine.

"Jessie, pull out the laptop and tell Iris to guard the perimeter of the compound."

"Got it, Dad," she said pulling the laptop from the space under her seat. She flipped it open and logged on, connecting to the Questworld mainframe via a satellite link. "Just a few seconds…there," Jessie said tapping away at the keypad. "Activating level four security. That should keep the pick-up from coming in after us." Race started up the engine again. He drove along the narrow drive for a few minutes before pulling the van into the garage by the main house. 

They were relieved to be safe inside the compound with Iris protecting them from intruders. Jonny bounded out of the van and ran to the computer station on the wall of the garage. He opened the wall panel and asked for a report on the situation while they had been gone.

"Situation: Normal," Iris could be heard saying. "No entries or exits since 10:27 a.m. Level four security activated, authorization, Jessica Bannon."

"10:27, that's when we left," Jonny said. "Everything is fine here."

"Good," Race said. "For now, you kids go find something indoors to do. I'm going to call Benton and find out what he has to say about all of this."

"How about we go to the lighthouse?" Jonny said. "Maggie, you haven't played Maze Demons in a while."

"I'd rather stay in the main house. I'll feel safer there." Maggie was carefully making her way to the door of the van. "Besides, I can't walk that far."

"That reminds me," Price said. "You are supposed to stay off that knee for at least a week." He picked her up out of the van and followed after Race. Jonny shut the van door and he and Jessie followed after Price both making sure the garage was secured before leaving.

*JQJQJQJQ*

They had spent most of the day playing Monopoly. Race hadn't been able to contact Benton Quest, and was pacing the living room, waiting until a suitable amount of time had passed before trying again. Jonny won Monopoly, then there was nothing to do, so Maggie had Price bring her up to her room so she could take a nap. She lay awake for a long time, until there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she called. Jessie's head poked around the corner. "Hi, what's up?"

"Jonny and Price are being annoying, so I thought if you weren't sleeping, I could hang out in here." Maggie motioned her in.

"What are those two doing now?" Maggie asked.

"You name it," Jessie replied. "Of course, Jonny always annoys me, but I used to think Price was better than him. Apparently not. They're discussing how cool they are. Egotistical jerks."

"Tell me about it," Maggie said with a laugh. "Yesterday, before we went out on the snowmobiles, Price asked me if I liked him in his uniform. He said 'most girls like men in uniforms.' Of course, he meant himself."

"What did you say?" Jessie asked.

"I told him I wasn't most girls," they both started to laugh. "I actually think he's gorgeous in uniform, but never tell him I said that."

"I promise," Jessie swore. Then she turned a little more serious. "You like him, don't you?"

"Well, kind of, yeah," Maggie said. Her face was turning bright pink.

"Kind of!" Jessie exclaimed pointing to her face.

"Okay, so I like him. So what?" Maggie said defensively.

"You know something?" Jessie said, "If you keep on pretending you're not interested, eventually you'll chase him off. Don't you ever notice the way he looks at you? I think he's in love with you."

"Well, no," Maggie wailed. "I don't believe it."

"You should" Jessie said surprised that Maggie hadn't been aware of the fact. "He was jealous when my dad carried you to the van from the hospital," Jessie informed her. "And he probably didn't even think twice about coming out here with you, rather than going home to see his mother." Suddenly they heard a sneeze from outside the door. Jessie and Maggie looked at one another in surprise.

"Get him," Maggie whispered. Jessie jumped up and ran to the door, flinging it open to reveal Jonny standing there with his ear turned to the door. "Jonny! How long have you been listening?"

"Gotta go. Price might be interested in what I have to tell him." Jonny dashed down the hall with a laugh. Jessie chased after him.

"Get him, Jessie!" Maggie called after them. "Don't relent until he promises not to spill it!" Maggie laughed to herself as she listened to Jessie chase Jonny down the stairs and through the rooms of the lower level of the mansion. A few minutes later, Price came into her room.

"Do you have any idea why Jessie is chasing Jonny around like a mad woman?" Price asked.

"Yes, I do," Maggie said matter-of-factly. "She's chasing him because I cannot."

"Why would you go chasing after Jonny? What did he do?"

"He was eavesdropping on our conversation. That is enough to get anyone angry." Maggie carefully pulled herself up and sat tall against the pillows that Jessie had arranged for her. Price nodded in understanding.

"Then I won't ask what it was he heard. Do you want me to take you downstairs?"

"No, thank you. I just want to stay up here until supper. Watching Race Bannon pace up and down makes me nervous." Price settled into the chair by the desk, and sat back comfortably.

"Me too," he agreed. "Oh, look, there's Bandit." The little black and white bull terrier meandered into the room. He walked up to the edge of the bed that Maggie was sitting on. He stopped and looked up at her.

"Come on, boy," Maggie said patting a place on the bed beside her. Bandit jumped up and curled up next to her, licking her hand. She pet him affectionately. "How come you aren't tearing around after Jonny and Jessie?" Maggie asked the little dog. Bandit just looked up at her with big eyes. "I know what you mean, boy," she said with a laugh. Then a comfortable silence settled over them as they listened to the chase going on below.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Jonny dashed into the living room from the library, Jessie hot on his tail. He ran up to Race, who was still pacing, and used him as a barrier between himself and Jessie. Jessie lunged one way then the other around her father, trying to grab onto Jonny, determined to catch him.

"Will you kids settle down?" Race asked in annoyance. "Go somewhere else and leave me out of this."

"Sure thing Race," Jonny said, dashing around the side of the couch, faking Jessie out.

"Come back here, Jonny!" Jessie demanded chasing after him.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Maggie sat on a stool drying the clean dishes as Jonny handed them to her. Jessie had finally caught him, and after extracting a vow of silence from him through torture, they penalized him by making him do the dishes after dinner. To his credit, he was a good sport and didn't complain. When the job was done, the retired to the library where Race had decided to resume his pacing. Though they tried to play a game of cards, the atmosphere was tense, and everyone turned in earlier than usual because of it.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Maggie suddenly awoke and sat up in bed to look around her room. She listened intently to the sounds of the night. As far as she could tell, there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever had roused her from her sleep was a mystery to her.

Wide awake now, she decided to sit by the window until she was tired enough to go back to sleep. Using the furniture to steady herself, she managed to hop her way to the chair beside the window. Sitting down, she gingerly touched her injured knee. It was really sore. Carefully, she massaged the joint around the cut, then leaned back in the chair with a blanket around her shoulders and gazed blankly out into the dark night.

The moon slowly rose, its silvery light shining through the many panes of glass of the large Georgian window, creating a grid pattern on the floor. It was a beautiful night, and as the moon rose higher, it illuminated the scene beyond the glass. Maggie was startled when she saw a figure emerge from the dark, shadowy woods. The dark figure walked along, and seemed to keep looking at the mansion.

Fear crept over her as the figure stopped and seemed to stare right at her. Maggie got up and hobbled to the wall as fast as she could, regardless of the doctors orders to keep off of her knee. Jonny's room was right next door, and Maggie knocked on the wall their two rooms shared.

"Just a minute," came the muffled sound of Jonny's voice. Maggie rushed back to the window to see if the figure was still there. Whoever it had been was gone. Maggie was standing there shivering when Jonny came through her door.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Jonny asked staring at Maggie. She motioned him to come over to the window.

"I saw someone," she whispered. "They came out of the woods and was walking along the tree line. Whoever it was stopped and looked at me. I'm scared."

"Are you sure you saw someone?" Jonny asked, raising his eyebrows in doubt. "You weren't just dreaming it?"

"I did, really," Maggie assured him. "I ran over to the wall to call you, and when I got back to the window, the person was gone." Jonny looked out into the moonlit night. He wasn't sure if she really had seen someone, or she had just been dreaming. He decided to take her word for it, especially after what had happened over the last couple of days.

"I'll go check it out in the morning. If there was someone out there, we'll find footprints. And maybe Iris caught something on camera. For now, security is on, and we're safe inside the compound. Why don't you go back to bed and get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"I don't know if I can," Maggie told him. "I'm scared." Jonny thought a minute.

"I'll go get some extra blankets, and I'll sleep on the floor in here. Will that make you feel better?" he asked. She nodded.

"You're the best," Maggie gave her seventeen-year-old cousin a hug. She hobbled back to her bed while Jonny got the extra blankets and some pillows from his room. He made up a comfortable place to sleep on the floor next to her bed. Bandit came along with him, and curled up on the blankets beside Maggie.

"Bandit, you traitor," Jonny said with a smile. He didn't really mind. He knew Maggie needed the little dog's comfort more than he did. "Goodnight, Maggie." 

"Goodnight, Jonny."

*JQJQJQJQ*

Something was over Maggie's face. She couldn't open her eyes, and she tried to call out, but she couldn't catch her breath. Struggling, she tried to push whatever it was off of her. It wouldn't budge. She could feel something heavy pressing down on her chest, and she started kicking under her blankets, trying to get it off. As her air ran out, she felt her limbs become heavy, and it became harder to move. As she began to slip into unconsciousness, she could hear the faint barks of Bandit who had been sleeping next to her on the bed.

*JQJQJQJQ*


	4. Intruder

Disclaimer:

All characters affiliated with JQ: TRA are owned by Hanna Barbara. No infringement of copyrights are intended. This is a work of fiction written by a fan for other fans' enjoyment. No money was made off of this fic.

Warnings:

Overall Rating of PG. Contains mild language, and some mature themes, and mild violence. (Honestly, there isn't anything worse than what you might find in a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery.)

A Note From the Author:

The real reason I'm posting this series (aside from it gathering e-dust on my hard drive) is for the benefit of my sister, Stardreamer. She was my only fan for the longest time, and now that she's at school out of state, I decided to post this series so she can read it when she's homesick. She says she needs something to keep her busy, and since I personally wrote this, I thought it would help. ~Sapphire

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

Back from the Dead

By: Sapphire (SapphireWings)

Chapter Four: Intruder

Location: Quest compound, Maine

Rudely awakened by Bandit's yips, Jonny sat up on the floor, pushing the blankets of his makeshift bed out of his way. He looked up at the bed to tell his dog to shut up when he saw a tall man with determined eyes keeping his cousin pinned down with his knee on her chest, holding a pillow to her face. 

"Get off of her!" Jonny shouted as he sprang on top of the intruder. He grabbed him by the neck, and pulled back hard, toppling them both onto the floor. Bandit, loyal to his master, bit into the intruder's ankle. "Get him, boy!" Jonny encouraged as he wiggled out from under the heavy man's body.

Maggie felt a rush of fresh air on her face. The pillow was gone. She took a deep breath, and was quickly revived. She sat up and shook her head, clearing her mind. She saw Jonny struggling on the floor with the intruder.

"Leave him alone!" she ordered, and she reached out and grabbed the man's dark hair, pulling his head back, giving Jonny the opportunity to escape the man's grasp. She was stunned to see the gunman from the train station staring back at her. She screamed and let him go in terror.

The intruder stood slowly and stared at the cousins, each in turn. That look turned Maggie's blood cold with fear. Jonny saw it too, but he didn't flinch. Instead, Jonny rushed the man in black. The man shoved Jonny into the wall, easily fending off the attack, and ran toward the window. "You two may have escaped, but I got one!" he shouted as he went right through the window, glass and splintered wood flying everywhere.

The cousins watched as the man leaped. Jonny dragged himself from the floor where he was slumped against the wall, and ran to the window. He looked down at the ground and saw the dark figure below get up and run into the trees. He was gone. For now.

"What did he mean, he got one of us?" Maggie commented as Jonny turned back toward her. He shrugged. They both looked down and saw Bandit dashing back and fourth between them, obviously disturbed by something.

"What is it boy?" Jonny asked. Bandit ran to the door and stood waiting for Jonny and Maggie to follow. Maggie got off the bed and opened the door for Bandit. He ran into the dark, open doorway of the room directly across from Jonny's. Ignoring the pain in her knee, Maggie followed, Jonny right behind her. "That's Price's room," Jonny said, confused. Maggie nodded, then followed Bandit inside.

"Price!" she gasped when she spotted him. He was lying in a heap on the floor. As far as Maggie could tell, he wasn't moving, or breathing. She got to him as fast as she could and lowered herself to one knee beside him, turning him onto his back.

In the dim light from the window, she could see several cuts on his face; one particularly large gash above his eye, and his lip was cut and bleeding. She also noticed a few bruises forming along his jaw, by his eye, and on one cheek. He had been badly beaten by someone. Maggie held her cheek close to his mouth, feeling for his breath while she felt for his pulse with two fingers. 

"Please, Price, breathe," she urged. She started to feel a lump rise in her throat when she felt neither pulse nor breath. She couldn't be sure of the pulse, though, her hand was shaking so badly. She steadied herself, then tried again. This time she felt a faint pulse. "Jonny, help me," Maggie demanded. "We have to shift him so his airway is open." Jonny got down on his knees beside his cousin and carefully helped her turn Price so his head could lay back giving him freedom to breathe. Then, suddenly, they heard Price take a big breath of air. Maggie felt enormous relief.

"Maggie, will you be all right by yourself?" Jonny asked. She turned to look at him, and nodded. "I'm going to go check on everyone else. I'm surprised no one came when you screamed."

"Be careful, Jonny," Maggie warned. "Who knows who else might be hiding inside the mansion."

"Hey, this is me we're talking about. I'm always careful."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Maggie said with a forced laugh. Jonny flashed her his famous crooked grin, and left. Bandit, who had watched the whole exchange, trotted up to Maggie and sat down beside her. She gave him an affectionate pat on the head. If Jonny's faithful little dog wasn't worried about his master then, Maggie thought, there probably wasn't anything for her to worry about either.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Jonny ran down the hall to Jessie's room. He opened her door as quietly as he could. Jonny silently approached the bed where Jessie lay sleeping.

"Jess!" Jonny whispered loudly, getting his friend's attention. "Wake up!" Jessie's eyes opened, and she stared at Jonny in bewilderment.

"What?" she finally asked. "Why did you have to go and wake me up in the middle of the night? I was having the best dream."

"Get up. Some guy got into the house. He just tried to kill Maggie, and he beat Price up pretty bad. Maggie's with him now." Jonny wasted as few words as possible, and Jessie got out of bed as he spoke. "Get your boots and coat on. We're going to follow that guy."

Jonny and Jessie went down the stairs silently, and left the house. They would pick up the intruder's trail below Maggie's window, and they were going to follow the man in black into the woods and see if they could catch him. Both knew it was risky, but it was also dangerous to let that man run free. He might try something again, and the next time, he might just succeed.

*JQJQJQJQ*

After Jonny left, Maggie got up from the floor and went into the bathroom Price shared with the empty room next door. She pulled a washcloth from the closet, and wet it in the sink. She flipped the switch of a small desk lamp as she went by, but it didn't turn on. She tried flipping it off and back on again. Nothing. She went back to the bathroom and tried that light. Still nothing.

"It can't be a power failure," Maggie mumbled to herself. "There's no storm." She felt uneasy, but shrugged it off. She had more important things to think about. For all she knew, it could be as simple as a shorted fuse somewhere inside the house.

Kneeling beside Price once again, Maggie carefully wiped the blood away from his face and gently washed his wounds. Once he was cleaned up, he looked much better.

There was nothing more Maggie could do. She sat there on the floor, petting Bandit, waiting for Price to wake up on his own. As she stared unseeing in front of her, she felt something touch her gently. She turned to see Price looking up at her, his hand resting in the crook of her arm.

"I'm so glad you decided to rejoin the world," she told him. He smiled, then grimaced, holding his hand to his head. "Don't try to move around too much," Maggie advised, "You were beaten pretty badly."

"I need to sit up. Help me sit up," Price said. Maggie held onto him as he sat up slowly and leaned against the bed. He rested for a few moments, holding his side, before he spoke again. "The man from the train station- he's here."

"I know," Maggie said. "He tried to kill me again. Jonny stopped him, but he got away."

"Are you all right?" Price asked her with concern.

"Compared to you, I got off very easy," she said with a smile. Price pulled her close and put an arm around her shoulders.

"If anything had happened to you-" he couldn't finish his sentence. "Well, I'm just glad you're okay," she whispered with a smile. He leaned toward her to kiss her. Bandit suddenly started to bark excitedly. Price quickly pulled away from Maggie.

Bandit ran out the open door, barking happily. Maggie and Price could hear someone walking down the hall toward the room. A familiar voice greeted the excited dog.

"Hey, boy. What were you doing in Price's room?" Race Bannon asked the little dog. "Hey, where're you going?" Bandit came running back in the room, followed closely by Race. "What the Sam Hill happened to you?" he exclaimed when he saw Price's face in his flashlight beam.

"Someone broke in," Maggie said. "It was the same guy who tried to shoot me in Acosta. He did this to Price," she indicated his cut and bruised face, "then went into my room and tried to kill me. Didn't Jonny tell you?"

"No, he didn't. Where is he, anyway?" Race asked her.

"After the guy jumped out my window, Jonny said he was going to make sure everyone else was okay. Didn't he do that?" Race shook his head.

"I heard a noise downstairs and thought I'd go look around the house, make sure everything was quiet," he said. "The second I reached the top of the stairs, Bandit came tearing down the hall."

"We should go find Jonny. If someone else were in the house, something might have happened to him," Price said, struggling to get to his feet. Maggie pulled herself up using the bed, then she and Race helped Price stand.

"You gonna be okay?" Race asked Price, unsure if he should let go of the young man's arm.

"Yeah, fine," Price said with a grimace and a nod.

"You two head downstairs," Race said with a worried sideways glance at both Price and Maggie, "I'm going to get Jessie and see if I can find Jonny."

*JQJQJQJQ*

"He went in that direction," Jonny said pointing toward the trees. "I watched from the window until he was gone." He and Jessie trudged through the seven-inch-deep snow along side the tracks made by the intruder.

"He's in really good shape," Jonny commented, breathing hard from the exertion of chasing after him. "Judging by the space between footprints, I'd say he was still running when he got to this point, and it looks like he kept on running."

"Any ideas where he might be headed?" Jessie asked. "There's nothing out here. There's no place to go."

"That's not what I'm wondering, not where, but _how_," Jonny stated thoughtfully. "How did this guy get past security? Iris should have warned us about him."

"Good question," Jessie said. "I'd like to know the answer to that myself."

"Maybe we should stop by the lighthouse on the way back," Jonny suggested. "I wonder if something's happened to the main computers." Jessie nodded, thinking the same thing as Jonny.

In the distance, the two friends could hear the sound of an engine start. A second engine started right after the first. Jonny and Jessie looked to one another.

"They're getting away!" Jonny shouted. The two of them started to run. The engines revved, and started to drive off.

"It sounds like they're on snowmobiles," Jessie shouted. They put on more speed, but it was useless. The sound of the engines grew faint as they got farther away.

"Man!" Jonny exclaimed in disappointment. "They got away." The two runners slowed, knowing it was pointless to try and catch up with the snowmobiles. But they kept walking deeper into the woods.

Soon, they came to a small clearing. The footprints ended right next to the track of a snowmobile. Not more than ten feet away was another track. Both of the tracks made a loop in the clearing and headed back the way they had come. Jessie and Jonny stared at each other. There hadn't been one intruder on the property, there had been two.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Price found that once he was up, he had little trouble getting around. It was just the getting up that was the problem. His head still ached, no matter what position he was in, and his side still throbbed where he had been repeatedly hit. Despite his numerous pains, he took notice of the pained look in Maggie's eyes as she hobbled down the steps, forcing herself to walk on her injured knee. He wanted to just pick her up and carry her as he had done earlier that day, but he knew his body just couldn't do it. Instead, he contented himself with supporting some of her weight while she helped steady his wobbly balance as they made their way down the stairs together. By the time Race caught up to them they had reached the kitchen.

"Jessie's not there. Her coat's gone," Race said. "The noise I heard was probably Jonny and Jessie leaving the main house."

"Where do you suppose they were headed?" Price wondered aloud.

"Where do you think?" Maggie asked, worry evident in her expression. "They're going after that assassin. There are tracks in the snow starting below my window." Race looked at Maggie with a serious expression.

"They don't know what they might be up against. I'm going after them. You two go up to the lighthouse and lock yourselves in. There are back-up power generators in there. Turn them on and see if you can get the computers on and Iris running again. It's a pretty good bet the power's been cut. Just concentrate on getting the security turned on." While giving his instructions, Race pulled on some boots and put on a warm coat. He unlocked a special cabinet in the little room next to the kitchen and pulled out a tranquilizer dart gun and some pre-filled darts. "This ought to do it," he said, and walked out the door.

"He's wrong, you know," Maggie said softly to Price. "Jonny and Jessie do know what they're up against. That man had a lust for blood in his eyes. I saw it, and Jonny saw it, and I swear Jonny's seen it before."

*JQJQJQJQ*

Race followed Jonny and Jessie's tracks from the kitchen door out to the back of the house. He saw where the intruder had landed after vaulting out Maggie's window. Shaking his head at the stupidity of Jonny and Jessie's chase, he pressed on, following the three sets of fresh tracks in the snow.

Entering into the woods, Race could hear the distant sound of snowmobiles starting up and racing through the trees. Worry weighing on his mind, he took off at a run. In a minute, the sound of the snowmobiles faded completely away. All he could think about was finding his daughter and Jonny Quest safe and sound.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Once inside the lighthouse, Maggie and Price locked the door and barricaded it with a desk. No one was getting in without them knowing it. Maggie knew more about the Questworld main computers than Price did, but what she knew wasn't a whole lot. She limped around the room on her knee, holding a flashlight to the many computer panels lining a section of the wall.

"Here," Maggie said. "This panel turns the whole system on. Hadji said they only use it when they have power failures, but the generators are in the basement of the lighthouse. The problem is, I don't know how to get down there."

"What's behind this door?" Price asked in a tired voice, holding his own flashlight up to illuminate the object in question. Maggie shrugged.

"I don't know. No one told me, and I never asked," she said honestly. "Try it and see." Price did, but it didn't open. "Let's see if we can find a key."

"It doesn't take a key," Price said. "There's a number pad next to it. I think you have to have an access code."

"Try a number and see what happens," Maggie suggested. Price started punching numbers, but nothing happened.

"No go. There's no power."

"Then that probably isn't the place they keep the backup generators," Maggie said cynically. "Keep looking." After covering every inch of the room, they still had no idea how to get down into the basement. Maggie limped dejectedly toward the VR bubble to sit in one of the chairs. She hadn't taken more than two steps, and she tripped over a mat on the floor. A look of irritation crossed her face as she picked herself up off the floor. _"Damn knee,"_ she thought to herself in total frustration. Then an idea struck her. "Price! Help me move this mat out of the way." Price gave her a look that implied she was loosing it.

"What for?" he asked.

"Just help me," she said in a no-nonsense way. Price shrugged and went to help. "As Jonny would say, Slammin!" Maggie shouted in triumph as a trap door was revealed. "I give you the way into the basement!" She indicated the trap door with a flourish of her hand.

"How did you know it was there?" Price asked.

"I didn't, but when I tripped over the mat, I wondered." Maggie stopped talking as she lifted the latch, and pulled open the trap door. It opened to reveal a flight of stairs going down. Price led the way with his flashlight, and Maggie followed slowly to avoid aggravating her knee any more than she already had. Once at the bottom, Price and Maggie looked around in awe with the flashlights.

"There must be enough power generators down here to light an entire city," Price said amazed. "How the hell do we turn all this on?" he was very relieved they had found the generators, but all the various control panels and switches and levers brought all the frustration flooding back.

"How about the 'on' switch," Maggie suggested laughing, pointing to the control panel by the stairs.

"Oh, of course," Price complained, "It just had to be that obvious. I was expecting something more complex, knowing your uncle." Maggie laughed again, and Price went and flipped the switch. The generators began to hum, and in a few seconds, the lights in the basement came on.

"Now we just have to turn on the power in the areas we want," Maggie said indicating a row of labeled buttons. "Let's get the computers up and running first." Price pushed the button labeled 'lighthouse' and they could hear the computers kick in on the floor above them.

"Okay," Price said. "What next? The main house?" Maggie agreed, and he pressed that button. "Security is a must. Then I say we get power to the garage. That should do for the night. If Race wants anything more, he can turn it on himself."

Finished with that, Price helped Maggie up the steps and into the main computer housing. Maggie sat down at the main console, and logged into the main computers, starting up the whole system.

"Identify user," came the voice of Iris.

"It's good to hear that voice again," Maggie said with relief. "Authorization, Maggie Hardy," She said to the computer.

"Verifying voice patterns," Iris stated. Maggie waited a few seconds for Iris to run the check. "Voice patterns confirmed."

"Activate security, level two," Maggie said.

"Level two security, initiated," Iris said.

"Now all we can do is wait," Maggie said.

*JQJQJQJQ*

It seemed to Race that he had been running through for hours chasing after the two teenagers. Out of nowhere they appeared, walking side by side, heading back toward the house.

"Where the Sam Hill have you two been?" Race demanded. "Are you two crazy, chasing after a murderer?" Jessie ran up to him and gave him a hug.

"We didn't mean to worry you, Dad," Jessie apologized. "We were just following him, to see where he was going."

"I know," Race said, glad that they were alright. "Next time you should come get me before trying anything dangerous."

"We promise, Race," Jonny said.

"As for you, Jonny," Race added, "You have Maggie so on-edge, she can't tell a fox from a skunk cabbage." Jonny looked chagrinned. After all, he had told his older cousin he was going to check on Race and Jessie, not chase after a would-be assassin. "Let's get to the lighthouse before she bursts a blood vessel from worry. Especially since she can't come looking for you herself."

*JQJQJQJQ*

The only thing Maggie said when Jonny walked into the lighthouse was "Don't you ever lie to me again!" She gave him a hug and never said another word about it. Jessie sat down at the console and made sure everything was running properly, and then Race and Jonny went to the garage for a large piece of plywood and some tools to cover Maggie's broken window. Jessie, Maggie, and Price headed back to the mansion, and Jonny and Race soon joined them.

After everything was put to rights, and security upgraded to level five, everyone went back to bed. Jonny went back to his own room, and Maggie, still afraid to sleep alone, slept with Jessie in her room. It wasn't long before the entire house was sound asleep.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Location: Rockport Station, Maine

"That was the longest trip I have ever taken," Dr. Quest said to Hadji as he and the young man stepped down onto the platform at the train station. "I'll be glad to get home. That is, _if_ noting serious is wrong."

"That message was quite vague," Hadji agreed. "I wonder what could have made Race ask us to come home early?"

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Dr. Quest said. "Let's go get a cab. Home is just a short drive away." Dr. Quest and Hadji walked away from the train they had just disembarked and headed for the taxi lane out in front of the station. When they got there, there were several taxis waiting for passengers to hire them.

"Need a ride?" asked one of the drivers.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Dr. Quest said.

"Hop in, I'll take you where you wanna go," the driver said hitching his thumb over his shoulder toward his cab. He stowed the luggage in the trunk and went around to the driver's side door and climbed in. Hadji and Benton were already waiting for him.

"Take us to the Quest Compound, it's just outside of town," Dr. Quest instructed the driver as the car started in motion.

"We'll just see about that," the driver said. He reached over and pressed a button on a console on the dashboard. A plate of bulletproof glass slid up between the front and back seats.

"What are you doing?" Hadji asked as the glass sealed tightly into the roof. Both he and Dr. Quest watched helplessly as the driver reached over and pressed another button. Suddenly, the backseat started to fill with some kind of gas.

"Hurry! Try the doors!" Dr. Quest shouted. He and Hadji pulled at the door handles. They were locked in and the gas was getting thicker. Struggling to get out, they tried not to breathe in the gas, but it was no use. Soon, they were both slumped over in the backseat, unconscious.

*JQJQJQJQ*


	5. Enemy's Return

Disclaimer:

All characters affiliated with JQ: TRA are owned by Hanna Barbara. No infringement of copyrights are intended. This is a work of fiction written by a fan for other fans' enjoyment. No money was made off of this fic.

Warnings:

Overall Rating of PG. Contains mild language, and some mature themes, and mild violence. (Honestly, there isn't anything worse than what you might find in a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery.)

A Note From the Author:

I think I'll finish posting this piece this post. Two chapters, coming up. ~Sapphire

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

Back from the Dead

By: Sapphire (SapphireWings)

Chapter Five: Enemy's Return

Location: Quest Compound, Maine

The next morning dawned crisp and cold. There was a thin layer of clouds in the sky, so thin the sun was still visible, though it appeared as a hazy orb in the sky. There wasn't much of a chance of snow on such a day, but the temperatures promised to remain low.

Race, Price, and Jessie went out that morning to find the cause of the previous night's power failure. They drove down the drive and discovered a cut wire just outside the compound. Back at the house, they called the power company via a cellular phone. They assured Race they would be there right away, and the workers arrived late that morning to repair the wire.

Once the power line crews were gone, Jessie sat in the living room with a laptop, going through the Questworld systems, making sure nothing was damaged in the power failure. Race resumed his pacing, still unable to contact Dr. Quest. Jonny completely surprised everyone by doing something useful for a change. He was busy cleaning up the shards of broken window in Maggie's room.

Maggie and Price were upstairs in Price's room. He was sitting on his bed, and she was in a chair right next to him, a Chinese checkers board between them. Neither of them were very intent on the game, the previous night's event still fresh in their minds.

"Benton Quest and Hadji Singh entering security controlled area." Iris could be heard through the entire house in accordance with the level four security Jessie had activated after the electric company crews had left.

"What on earth?" Maggie said, looking up at Price. "I thought they were still in Nigeria. Race couldn't reach them. Why are they home?"

"Want to go downstairs and find out?" Price asked. Maggie nodded and Price, somewhat stiffly, stood from the bed and helped Maggie up from the chair. His body was still sore from his beating the night before, and he had the bruises to go along with it, but he felt ten times better after a good night's sleep. He half carried Maggie as they made their way to the top of the stairs. Bandit, who seemed to always be near the young woman lately, followed close behind.

Just as they started down the steps, Hadji and Benton burst in through the front door. Bandit wasn't barking happily in greeting as he normally would. Instead, he was growling menacingly, his hackles rising. Maggie watched him for a moment as Price paused on the steps. When she looked up she saw why Bandit was behaving so strangely. Behind Dr. Quest and Hadji was Connor Hovand III.

"Father!" Price exclaimed, nearly dropping Maggie. He managed to keep his hold around her waist, barely able to prevent her from falling down the stairs. Maggie regained her balance and stood there on one foot, stunned to see Connor Hovand boldly looking up at them, but she wasn't surprised that he was alive.

"I knew he wasn't dead," Jonny said from the living room where he, Jessie, and Race were being held at gunpoint by the train station gunman, his black clothes from the night before visible under the open trench coat.

"Price, I'm sorry to see you here. I thought, by now, you would have learned not to associate with worthless people like Miss Hardy and her friends," Connor Hovand said. Maggie could tell Price was angry without looking at him. His tightening grip on her spoke volumes in itself.

"Give up this insane crusade of yours," Price said.

"That girl ruined my whole life. She ruined all my plans, lost me my company, forced me into hiding. I have to live under an assumed name. Now, I see, she has stolen my family and turned them against me. I will have my revenge."

"I stole YOUR family?" Maggie was shocked and angered. "You kept my father and brother from me for twenty years and killed both my parents and you're mad because you think _I_ took YOUR family? Are you absolutely insane?"

"I suppose one could look at it that way," Connor said thoughtfully. "However, you were supposed to die years ago, so it is you who are at fault." Maggie stared at him blankly, trying to see his logic, but couldn't.

"It's your fault you lost us, Father," Price said. "We trusted you, and you turned out to be a liar and a murderer. That's why we won't have anything to do with you anymore. It was better when we thought you were dead."

"Shut-up," Connor said sharply. He was already tired of this conversation, and moved to put an end to it. "I have here a semi-automatic weapon. My friend there has one, too. If anyone tires anything, he- or she- dies right here, right now." Connor pushed Hadji and Dr. Quest into the middle of the living room. As he stepped forward, two more men entered. One was holding a gun to the other. "As you can see, I have brought Devin to this little get together."

"Maggie! You're still alive." He had never been more glad to see anyone in his life. She smiled at him reassuringly. "And my name is not Devin. Not anymore. It never really was. It's Matthew." Connor didn't look too happy about the defiant remark.

"Shut up!" he snapped at Matthew. "I'm going to get rid of all of you at the same time."

"Mass murder is a nasty crime to be charged with," Race shot at Hovand with a piercing glare.

"Yes, it is," Hovand agreed amiably. "But I won't be charged. Authorities think I'm dead. And with all the enemies you and Dr. Quest have accumulated, authorities won't know who to pin it on."

"You slime," Jessie said, temper flaring. "You don't even have the guts to claim your own crime." Hovand laughed.

"Tie them all up," Connor said to a white clad gunman. He set to work. Maggie felt a spark of recognition. He was the man who had turned down the side passage of her floor when she had returned to her dorm room a few nights before.

"_So, I was followed,_" she thought to herself. She also guessed he was the one who left the answering machine message, and the man who had tried to kill her the day of the snowmobile accident. His white suit was a dead giveaway. He worked efficiently, and soon everyone was securely tied to heavy furniture except Matthew, Maggie, and Price.

"Now, Son, you come down here with that girl. Bring her to me," Hovand said. "I'm giving you this one last chance to show where your loyalties lie. As your father, I am telling you to do it," Connor ordered. Price shook his head. "I said bring her down here."

"No," Price firmly told his father. "I won't let you hurt her."

"Then I will come up there and get her." Connor mounted the stairs and approached the two that stood midway up. Price held Maggie firmly as Connor attempted to pry her away. The older man held the gun up level with Maggie's chest. Price pulled her around, shielding her with his own body, praying that his father wouldn't shoot his own son.

"Maggie, look out!" Jonny shouted a warning. She turned to see the train station gunman running down the few steps to her. He had snuck around to the other stairs and came up behind them. He grabbed Price by the neck while Connor yanked hard on Maggie's arm until she came flying down the steps at him. He sidestepped her, narrowly avoiding a collision, and Maggie fell to the hardwood floor at the bottom of the steps.

"Maggie!" Matthew shouted as his twin sister landed in a heap. He started toward her.

"Stop!" shouted the man in white. Matthew froze as a shot rang out. The gun had been fired into the ceiling, and plaster came raining down on him. Maggie, coming out of her daze, propped herself up on an elbow, and pushed her hair out of her face to see the worried faces of her family and friends.

"I'm all right," she told them shakily. Connor came down the step. The trench coat gunman finished tying Price to the staircase railing. The man from the train station hauled Maggie to her feet, holding a gun to her head.

"You and Devin are going with us for a little walk, now," Connor said. "I'll finally be rid of you." He prodded Matthew out the door. "The rest of you can burn in Hell- Price included." Connor looked right at Price. "You are not my son any more." The train station gunman brought Maggie right behind him, and exited the house. The man in white started to pour gasoline around the room as the others looked on helplessly. He finished his awful job, and headed for the door. With a glare and a triumphant smile, he lit a match and set it to the gasoline.

"I always did like bonfires," the man in white laughed at his own snide remark. Then he left the house as the fire spread rapidly along the gasoline soaked furniture and floor.

*JQJQJQJQ*

The man from the train station half carried and half pushed Maggie along the stone walkway. They followed close behind Connor Hovand who was easily directing Matthew with the gun, making the young man walk ahead of him. Maggie noticed as the third man caught up to them. She wondered what he had been up to.

Matthew was thinking of other things: Like where Hovand was taking them. He had thought they would go back to the car they had come in, but they were heading in the opposite direction. He looked ahead and saw a large outbuilding. He recognized it as the garage where his uncle housed vehicles of all kinds. Everything from four-wheelers and snowmobiles to a helicopter and an oversized RV equipped to the brim with technical equipment.

"Where are you taking us?" Maggie asked. She was confused as to what they were doing in the Quest garage.

"You will find out soon enough," Hovand told her briskly. Maggie was dropped on the ground by the wall, and Matthew was forced to sit beside her. Hovand stood over them with the gun while his two henchmen got to work.

The man in white opened up the large door, and the man from the train station started up a truck with a plow on the front. He drove out the door, pushing snow out of the way, making a path through the snow. After he had cleared a certain length of drive, he cut the engine, got out, and jogged quickly back to the garage. He and the man in white then walked right up to the helicopter and took it out of storage, moving in on it's motorized trolley. They maneuvered it out along the cleared path, and stopped it a sufficient distance from the building.

Both henchmen came back, and moved Matthew and Maggie out to the helicopter. Connor Hovand got in first and watched while Maggie and Matthew were loaded in. The man from the train station moved into the pilot seat and prepared to take off while the man in white took a seat beside Connor Hovand to watch the twins.

*JQJQJQJQ*

"Okay, Jonny, now would be a great time for one of your plans," Jessie said as the flames licked at the bookcase right beside her. She was tied tightly to a heavy chair and couldn't move.

"I'm working on it," Jonny replied, trying hard to think of some way out. He, too, was bound to a chair.

"Well, hurry it up," Race complained. "We don't have all day for you to think."

"I have an idea!" Jonny announced over the roar of the fire as something popped into his head. "Price, can you break the spindle of the banister? If you could, you'd be able to come untie us."

"It seems pretty solid," Price said pulling on the spindle. "Maybe if I kicked it out?" He maneuvered his aching body around on the stairs and put his foot up to the spindle's base. He gave it a good, hard kick. The hard piece of oak squeaked as it came loose of the nails holding it to the stairs. He kicked it again and it completely separated from the banister. He was free.

"Slammin'!" said Jonny. Price jumped to the bottom of the stairs, and quickly started to work on the knots holding Benton Quest to the back of the chair Jonny was stuck in. Once they were free, it was a matter of seconds before the rest were free. Jessie let Bandit out of the closet he was trapped in, and headed for the door being held open by her father.

Benton stopped a moment at a computer console in the wall. "Iris, cancel level four security and contact the Rockport Fire Department. Authorization Benton Quest."

"Level four security, canceled. Fire Department, on it's way," the voice of Iris stated.

"Show last known location of Maggie and Matthew Hardy," Dr. Quest commanded next. Iris played back the security footage of Maggie and Matthew being dragged through the garage. "Hurry!" Dr. Quest shouted. "Hovand is stealing the Quest Chopper!" He ran from the house and followed after the rest of the group toward the garage.

*JQJQJQJQ*

The rotor blades began to whirr as the man from the train station started up the helicopter's engines. Maggie felt her stomach turn as the noise grew louder. If they took off, she knew she and her brother were as good as dead. She looked toward the house, praying someone would come to rescue them. Instead, she saw smoke curling into the air.

"What did you do?!" she shouted. "What did you do to them?" Matthew looked out the window toward the house and gasped.

"I assure you, my dear," Connor stated coolly, "they won't suffer long. They will die of smoke inhalation before a single flame touches them." Just then, both Matthew and Maggie saw Jonny and Race running toward them. They were closely followed by Jessie, Price, Hadji, and Benton. They could even see Bandit running along with them. Both let out their pent up breath in relief. "Take off!" Connor ordered the pilot urgently. "Take off now!" The man in the pilot seat did as he was told, and the helicopter began to slowly lift off the ground.

Connor Hovand gave a laugh of victory as they rose into the air, and those on the ground disappeared from view. He had won, and soon all of the Hardy's would be dead. Then he would come back and get rid of the Quests for good.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Jonny ran as fast as he possibly could, trying to catch the helicopter before it lifted out of reach. Just at the last minute, he caught hold of the skid and he held on for dear life as he was snatched from the ground.

"Jonny!" Dr. Quest shouted as his son rose into the air.

"Dad!" Jessie shouted at the same time because Race managed to catch the chopper a nanosecond after Jonny. Price made a jump for it, and barely caught the skid, but his grasp slipped, and he fell several feet back to the ground.

"No!" he shouted from the snow bank he had landed in. The others arrived just then, and all heads were turned to the sky as the helicopter started to fly away.

"You tried," Jessie said consoling the disappointed Price. "If anyone can save them, it's Jonny and my Dad." As she finished her sentence, they could hear the faint sirens of the fire engines coming toward the mansion.

"Looks like all we can do now is meet the authorities, and hope for the best," Benton Quest said with a worried sigh.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Jonny looked down. His feet were hanging there, high up above the treetops. If he let go now, he would fall to his death. He shuddered. Looking across to the other skid, he saw Race Bannon trying to hook his feet around the skid so he could climb up onto it. Ignoring the freezing air cutting through his thin shirt, Jonny did the same.

When they had both managed to get up and were seated on the skids, they glanced at one another again. Race gave him the "hold up" gesture, meaning for him to follow his lead. Race slid to the back of the skid and slowly stood up along the body of the helicopter. Jonny did the same, knowing they would have to get inside if they were going to be of any help. Jonny reached up for the door handle, and waited for Race's signal.

Race held onto the handle of the door while he crouched on the thin skid. He raised his head ever so slowly and peered into the helicopter window at an angle, so as not to be noticed by the passengers inside the cabin. He could see Hovand and the man in black across from him. He figured Maggie and Matthew must be right next to him and Jonny, sitting on the bench that stretched across the back of the cabin. None of the passengers had any idea he and Jonny were out there. He and Jonny definitely had the element of surprise on their side. Race counted to three, then flung open the door.

*JQJQJQJQ*

Maggie sat in her seat, staring across the cabin at Connor Hovand. She really hated that man. Though she was afraid of the gun he was pointing at her, she couldn't help but wonder how he had escaped the fire at the warehouse last spring and gotten away without being seen.

"So, you all thought me dead, did you?" Mr. Hovand asked with a smirk on his face. "I had you all fooled. You two, that dense Dr. Quest and his muscle man Bannon, and those rotten kids besides."

"You didn't have Jonny fooled," Maggie couldn't help but squelch his attitude. "He knew all along that you were alive." She had succeeded. Connor Hovand gave her a menacing look.

"How exactly did you get out?" Matthew asked. He figured if they were going to die, they might as well die knowing the truth.

"Easy," Hovand told them. "I stayed inside the entrance of the building until some unsuspecting fireman came along. I pretended I needed help, and when he bent down, I pulled his mask off and knocked him out. I stole his gear, and hid his body. I left when other firefighters showed up, and when anyone asked me what I was doing, I told them I was running back to the truck for something. When I had gotten far enough away, I ditched the gear and left town."

"Then who's body did they find in the ruins?" Maggie asked curiously. "Everyone else was accounted for."

"Everyone that was alive before the explosion, anyway," Mr. Hovand said gloating. "I imagine what they found was what was left of your mother." Maggie's jaw dropped in horror. Matthew swallowed a lump in his throat. Connor Hovand laughed maniacally. Suddenly, the door flew open, and the passengers were hit with an icy blast of air.

Connor Hovand's face showed sheer shock. He was momentarily stunned. It was exactly what Race had hoped for. He held onto the door and swung himself into the helicopter's cabin and sent a foot flying into Hovand's jaw. His gun went off and the bullet went through the window on Jonny's side.

Jonny saw the window's glass spider web out from the bullet hole. He took it as his cue. He flung the door open, and climbed inside. As he did, he saw Matthew lunge at the man in white. Maggie was still sitting in her seat, but was trying to wrench the gun out of Connor Hovand's hand with her one uninjured hand.

"Jonny! Help me get the gun!" Matthew shouted when he saw his younger cousin. Jonny jumped up and grabbed the wrist of the man in white, trying not to let the gun point anywhere but up.

A shot rang out and hit the wall behind Maggie. Maggie looked up. The pilot had a gun in his hand. He had just shot at her. She still held tight to Hovand's gun with her good hand, and ignoring the pilot for the moment, brought her hard cast down on Hovand's wrist. He finally let go. Maggie tossed the gun out the open door.

After the pilot had fired at Maggie, Matthew immediately jumped on him, leaving Jonny to deal with the man in white all alone. Maggie jumped to Jonny's aid. She knew Race could handle Hovand on his own.

"Maggie! Hit him!" Jonny yelled. She did- right in the eye with her cast. Maggie climbed up on the momentarily stunned man, and lay across his lap, hindering his maneuverability while Jonny still wrestled with his gun, but the man in white held fast to the steel weapon.

Matthew kicked the pilot's hand, and the gun dropped to the floor as his grasp loosened. Matthew picked the weapon up to throw it out the door, but the pilot grabbed Matthew's wrist and turned him around, twisting his arm behind his back until he let go of the gun.

"Let my boss and my pal here go- or else your friend, here, gets it," the pilot yelled, pressing the gun to Matthew's temple. Jonny, Maggie, and Race all backed off instantly.

"Everyone sit," Connor ordered, pointing to the seat across the back of the cabin. Race, Jonny, and Maggie found their way to the seat. "Now, we shall get this over with once and for all." Connor grabbed Matthew and made him kneel on the floor before him. He took the gun from the pilot. "Get back to flying this thing," he ordered. The pilot obeyed. Then Hovand turned to his prisoners. "You, my dear," he said to Maggie, "have meddled in my affairs for far too long. As punishment, you will watch as everyone is executed before you." Maggie turned pale at his words. She watched as Connor raised his gun level with Matthew's head. His finger began to tighten around the trigger.

"No!" Maggie screamed, and lunged at the gun. She grabbed Hovand's wrist and swung his hand away from her twin brother.

Connor grunted as the rest of Maggie's body hit him, and he pulled the trigger in reaction to the jolt. The gun fired. Everyone looked around, trying to find where the bullet had gone. The pilot slumped in his seat, the back of his head oozing blood.

"You killed my brother!" The man in white shouted and vengefully turned his gun on Maggie.

Jonny wasn't about to let his cousin get shot. He jumped at the man in white. Race made his way to the dead pilot. No one was flying the Quest Chopper anymore.

The man in white had Jonny pinned to the floor of the cabin. He was choking the blond seventeen-year-old. Matthew, coming to his senses, pried the man in white off of him. Jonny sent both feet flying into his attacker's abdomen. The man in white flew backward and crashed into his seat. Jonny jumped up and brought both fists down on the back of his neck, sending him into a black oblivion of unconsciousness.

Race wasn't getting anywhere. He couldn't maneuver the controls with the pilot's body in the way. Race reached across the corpse and opened the pilot's door. Then, after unbuckling the body, pushed it out the door and it was gone. As the corpse fell, a foot hit the controls, and the helicopter started to take a dive toward the ground far below. Race felt the aircraft jerk, and quickly climbed into the pilot's seat and set it on a steady course.

Maggie had been struggling with Connor Hovand. He still had the gun, but she wasn't going to let go of it or give up. Connor was getting tired of her persistent and annoying interference. He tensed up, then sprang forward, knocking her away. Just as he did so, the helicopter dipped, and they were both pitched out the open door.

"Jonny!!" Maggie screamed as she was thrown into empty air.

"Maggie!" both Jonny and Matthew yelled as the young woman disappeared from sight.

As she began to fall, Maggie reached out to catch onto something, anything. She managed to grab the skid with her good hand. Connor, too, tried to grab hold of something and managed to get a hold of Maggie's foot.

Jonny and Matthew both dropped to the floor as Maggie fell. They crawled to the open doorway and stuck their heads out of the helicopter, looking over the edge where they had watched Maggie disappear.

"Jonny! Matthew!" she called out tersely when she saw them. "Help me! I'm slipping!"

"Hold on!" Matthew yelled down to her over the roar of air from the rotor blades. He almost couldn't believe her luck in catching hold of the skid.

"Hurry!" Jonny shouted to Matthew, wasting no time. "Lower me down to her. I'll grab hold of her, and you can haul us up!"

"What about Hovand?" Matthew asked. "I can't hold all three of you up."

"Leave that to me." Jonny answered. Matthew anchored himself to the passenger seat opposite the door. Then he grabbed hold of Jonny's ankles and lowered him over the side out the door. Jonny was hanging there from the waist down. His hands could just reach Maggie's hand. 

"Jonny!" Maggie called as he grabbed hold of her wrist. "I can't hang on anymore. He's too heavy." Jonny looked into her pleading eyes.

"Kick him," Jonny called to her. "Kick his hands as hard as you can! Make him let go!" She did as she was told, taking her free foot and kicking at Connor's bare hand. She hit him square on the knuckles several times, and suddenly his weight was gone.

"You did it!" Jonny exclaimed. "Pull us up!" he shouted to Matthew. Matthew pulled with all his strength and managed to get Jonny back into the chopper. Once he was in, Matthew crawled over to the door and leaned out, reaching down to grab hold of his sister's other arm. Together, Jonny and Matthew hauled Maggie into the cabin.

"Close the doors," Race called back to them. "It's freezing in here." Jonny and Matthew left Maggie lying on the floor to catch her breath while they carefully reached out and closed the doors to the cabin. All four breathed a sigh of relief.

Jonny tied the man in white to his seat with Matthew's sweatshirt. Matthew helped Maggie up off the floor. She threw her arms around him and hugged him as tight as she could. They both sat down on the seat along the back and relaxed. Jonny sat across from Maggie, next to the man in white.

"Well, kids, what do you say we go home?" Race said turning the helicopter back the way they had come.

*JQJQJQJQ*


	6. Loose Ends

Disclaimer:

All characters affiliated with JQ: TRA are owned by Hanna Barbara. No infringement of copyrights are intended. This is a work of fiction written by a fan for other fans' enjoyment. No money was made off of this fic.

Warnings:

Overall Rating of PG. Contains mild language, and some mature themes, and mild violence. (Honestly, there isn't anything worse than what you might find in a Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys mystery.)

A Note From the Author:

Here's the end of "Back from the Dead." I hope it amused you. Look for "Outlaws" coming in a April or May 2004. ~Sapphire

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

Back from the Dead

By: Sapphire (SapphireWings)

Chapter Six: Loose Ends

Location: Quest Compound, Maine

Benton Quest, along with Jessie, Hadji, Price, and Bandit looked around the charred remains of what used to be the living room. All the furniture was destroyed, the walls were nearly gone, the roof above would need replacing, the floor was built on top of concrete, but the beautiful hardwood was gone. The bottom half of the stairs had been burned away as well. The rest of the house was untouched, and only this corner of the mansion would need work.

Jessie watched as Benton stooped over and picked something out of the charred rubble and ash. She recognized the brass picture frame that had held Rachel Quest's photograph. Benton took his shirt sleeve and wiped the grime from the cracked glass. Underneath he could just make out the shape and features of the face on the browned photographic paper. She wasn't sure, but Jessie thought she saw a tear on his cheek. Jessie could feel tears come to her own eyes at the sad sight. Pictures were the only things Dr. Quest had left of his wife. What was more, they didn't know if Jonny would ever come back.

Suddenly, Bandit started to bark excitedly. "What is it boy?" Jessie asked curiously. "Show me." Bandit took off for what used to be the front door. Hadji, Dr. Quest, Price, and Jessie looked to one another. "Let's follow him," Jessie said. They ran after the little dog.

"A helicopter!" Hadji said as the got out of the house. Everyone could hear the rotor blades in the distance. All eyes turned to the sky above the woods, and after what seemed an eternity, the Quest Chopper suddenly appeared.

Running up to the plowed landing pad, they waited for the chopper to land. As the engines were cut, the side door opened, and Jonny jumped out.

"Dad!" he shouted and ran up to his father.

"Jonny! Are you all right?" Benton Quest asked giving his son a hug.

"I'm fine, Dad," Jonny answered. Then he stooped down and scooped up the little barking dog. "Bandit! Did ya miss me, boy?" The little dog yelped and licked his master's face. Jonny laughed.

"Dad!" Jessie yelled when she saw Race come around the side of the Quest Chopper.

"Ponchita!" Jessie ran over to her own father and gave him a hug.

"There's blood on you," Jessie said with concern, lightly tracing the outline of a large stain on the sleeve of his shirt.

"It's not mine," Race assured her. "It was one of Hovand's men."

Matthew jumped down out of the cabin, dragging the man in white along with him. The thug was still out cold. He dumped the limp form of the unconscious man into the snow and stood over him, waiting for him to revive.

"Who's handy work is that?" Price asked his adopted brother, indicating the unconscious man.

"That would be Jonny. But I held him while Jonny put out his lights," Matthew said. Jonny just smiled and shrugged.

Maggie appeared as she slid along the seat toward the doorway. She carefully lowered herself from her seat to the floor using only her good arm and leg, and sat with her feet dangling out of the cabin.

"Are you okay?" Price asked as he helped her out of the helicopter. She didn't say anything at first, but wrapped her arms around him tightly. He hugged her back.

"I'm fine," she said through chattering teeth. "But I will _never_ fly again. Not after that ride." She started to shake with cold. "Can we go someplace warm now?"

"Take her up to the house," Dr. Quest told Price. The young man nodded and placed a supportive arm around Maggie to take her weight off her injured knee. They started back to the mansion.

"That reminds me," Matthew said as he watched them go. "We saw smoke. What was that all about?"

"Mr. Hovand had the mansion set on fire," Hadji explained. "We were able to get out in time. Fire fighters put the fire out before it spread to the rest of the house." Matthew nodded.

"So what do we do with this guy?" he asked next.

"I guess we'll have to call the authorities and have them come pick him up," Dr. Quest told him. "We'll bring him up to the house and keep him tied up there until they come for him." Race and Matthew picked the unconscious man up out of the snow and hauled him to the house. Everyone followed close behind and exchanged stories as they went.

*JQJQJQJQ*

"What happened to my father?" Price asked Maggie as she sipped the hot chocolate he had just made her.

"He fell from the helicopter. I don't think he could have survived the fall," Maggie answered quietly as she watched Price make more cocoa to serve once the others decided to join them.

"He fell," Price said skeptically.

"He almost took me with him." Price turned to the young woman sitting at the table, hovering over the hot, steaming drink. She looked so vulnerable sitting there over the steaming cup. "I was trying to get his gun away from him. He was holding it to Matthew's head. There was a struggle, and the pilot was killed. Race went for the controls. The helicopter pitched to the side. Your father and I fell out the open door when the helicopter jerked. Somehow I caught the skid," Maggie told him with a shudder. Price couldn't tell if she shook from cold, or from fear of the memory. "I was only hanging on with one hand, and your father was hanging onto my ankle. I was slipping." she was having difficulty with the words, and Price couldn't look at her anymore as she spoke. He turned to the steaming mugs in front of him and began to mix in the cocoa to make it easier to take. "Jonny told me to kick him off. I was so scared, I just did it." Maggie looked up suddenly, and seeing price, wondered if he was upset. He had his back to her, and she couldn't see his face. She hoped he wasn't angry with her, or with Jonny. She hadn't meant to cause anyone's death, and she had been responsible for two that day.

"I wish you hadn't had to do that," Price said in a soft voice. "It's better that he's dead, I don't blame anyone but him. I just wish it hadn't been you." Maggie was unsure what to say. She just looked at him from her chair at the table.

"I'm sorry," she said finally. "Jonny didn't mean for it to happen that way, either."

"You don't need to apologize," Price said, slowly turning to face her. "I hated him- especially after what he did to me and my mother- what he did to you Matthew, and your family. It just isn't fair..." They didn't have the chance to say anything else. Jonny flung open the kitchen door and everyone trooped in.

"Hot chocolate!" Jonny exclaimed enthusiastically. "Slammin'! I could really go for some of that right now." Price handed him a mug, and Jonny sat in a chair at the table right next to Maggie.

"Where do we put him?" Matthew asked as he and Race brought the man in white into the warm kitchen.

"I suggest we tie him to a chair," Hadji said. "Perhaps he will learn from the experience."

"Only if he wakes up. If he doesn't, he won't know what we did to him when he finally does," Jonny said. Hadji shrugged.

"Here, put him in this one," Jessie said pulling a chair out from the kitchen table. The high backed oak chair was ideal. Dr. Quest produced some rope, and they bound the hands and ankles of the man in white before they secured him to the chair. "That ought to hold him until the police get here, at least."

"Are you warmed up now, Maggie?" Benton asked his niece while Race talked to the police on the telephone.

"I feel much better," Maggie answered. "I'm really tired though." To illustrate her point, she gave a big yawn.

"I'll take you up to your room," Matthew offered. "You can tell me what happened to you on the way," he said pointing to her cast and knee brace.

"You'll have to take me to Jessie's room. Mine has no window, and is much too cold. She's been nice enough to share with me," Maggie said. Matthew gave her a quizzical look. "I'll tell you about it on the way, and I want to know how you got here." Matthew nodded, then pulled his sister up onto his back. "Oh, piggy-back ride. This is different."

"You have to take her up the back stairs. The hallway is boarded up by the living room stairs to keep the heat in," Benton told them. Matthew nodded and he headed up the back stairs, Maggie laughing as Matthew stumbled his way up.

"How did Hovand get his hands on you, Benton?" Race asked Dr. Quest, now that he was finished talking to the police.

"Yeah, Dr. Quest. We thought you and Hadji were going to stay in Nigeria for another week," Jessie said with curiosity.

"We received a phony message from Race saying that we needed to get back home right away. It didn't relay any details, but it sounded urgent. Hadji and I got on the next plane, and when we arrived in Rockport, Mr. Hovand's thug was waiting for us," Dr. Quest explained.

"Dr. Quest and I were wondering how you would know there was trouble here at the compound. You had only left Nigeria a few hours before, and could not possibly be home yet," Hadji told them. "We thought perhaps Mrs. Evans had somehow contacted you, and you had relayed the message to us. We had no idea as to what was amiss."

"He's not very creative," Jonny commented. "I mean, Hovand could have come up with something less vague for a story."

"But would Hadji and your dad have come if it had been?" Jessie pointed out. "Dr. Quest wouldn't have felt the message was so important if it had been too long or detailed. Then Hovand's scheme wouldn't have worked. He's not as stupid as you like to think, Jonny."

"No, my father isn't stupid. He's very intelligent. Or, at least, he was," Price said. "I just wish he hadn't been as brilliant as he was. It would have spared a lot of people a lot of pain."

*JQJQJQJQ*

Matthew came back downstairs some time later. By then, the man in white had been picked up by the authorities. He took a seat next to Price on the couch in the library. Now that the living room was destroyed, the library had become the main room in the house.

"Now that this is all over," Matthew said, "I think we should forget the whole thing. We should especially keep it from Mother. It would just upset her if she found out Father had survived the warehouse, just to tell her he's dead again. It would be too much for her." Price nodded in agreement. Abigail Hovand had suffered a painful broken heart when the love of her life turned out to be a murdering traitor. She was finally coming to terms with how things were, and news like this would set her back tremendously. Neither of her sons wanted to see her fall back into her depression.

"Did you mention that to Maggie?" Price asked absentmindedly. Matthew nodded.

"She's the one who suggested it. And as far as Mother is concerned, I was never here. I've been in Peru the whole time," Matthew finished.

"Peru?" Price asked. "Are you sure that was real, and not just a set up by father?"

"Maggie wondered the same thing. I called my contact for the Peru project. It was legit. Father was able to somehow find out when I would be flying and where I'd be at what time. He set up and attack, and got me that way."

"Peru was legitimate?" Dr. Quest asked. "That was a definite stroke of luck for Connor Hovand."

"Yeah, Uncle Benton, I know what you mean," Matthew said. "It was suspicious...but it's all checked out okay."

"At least you'll be safely out of Connor Hovand's reach while you're in Peru. Which is more than I can say for the rest of us, what with Maggie and Hadji off at college," Dr. Quest said.

"You don't think he survived that fall, Benton?" Race asked skeptically.

"We all thought he was dead last time, and he wasn't. And they haven't found his body yet." Dr. Quest sighed. "Circumstance isn't enough evidence when it comes to the safety of my family. I won't believe it until I have tangible proof."

No one really had anything to add, and after a lengthy silence, they turned on the television and watched TV for a while.

"I'm getting tired," Jessie said. "Maybe I should join Maggie and go to bed." She got up from her seat and went to kiss her father goodnight.

"Goodnight, Ponchita," Race said. Jessie smiled, and left the room.

"Maybe we should all turn in," Race said. "Jet lag is finally catching up with me." The others nodded silently.

"Iris," Dr. Quest said, "Activate level two security, authorization, Dr. Benton Quest."

"What the heck is that for?" Jonny asked. "All the bad guys are outta here."

"It's just a precaution," Dr. Quest said. "The mansion isn't exactly secure with the corner of the building burned away like it is."

"Level two security activated," Iris said.

"Well, goodnight everyone," Dr. Quest said as he rose from his chair. He left the room, and the others trickled after him one by one.

*JQJQJQJQ*

The next day was full of activity at the Quest Compound. At breakfast, the police chief called to inform Benton Quest that the body of the train station gunman had been found earlier that morning. They were still searching for Connor Hovand's body. The man in white, who was currently in jail, would be facing a trial very soon, and would definitely be sent to prison for a long time.

After breakfast, Matthew made arrangements to leave for Peru that afternoon. While he was on the phone, the work crew arrived to start clearing out the rubble of what had been the living room the morning before. They would also replace Maggie's window as soon as a new one could be ordered and delivered.

Jonny and Jessie went right back to the books, catching up with their studies. It wasn't their idea, but Dr. Quest had told them that if they didn't get caught up by Friday afternoon, there would be no Questworld or outdoor activities that weekend. Needless to say, they were hard at work. Hadji spent the day helping Dr. Quest go through and make sure no systems had been damaged in the recent power outage.

That afternoon, Price and Maggie drove Matthew to the train station and saw him off. Once he was gone, they headed back to the car, and to the hospital to see the doctor. Maggie hadn't followed doctor's orders about her knee, and Dr. Quest thought it a good idea to have it checked out in case she had damaged it any further.

The doctor wasn't too thrilled about all the strain she had been putting on her knee. Fortunately, she hadn't done anything serious to it. She got a sound scolding, and was forbidden to put any weight on it for three weeks instead of two, which really irritated her, but she knew she deserved it. Then the doctor released her, and she could go back to the compound.

Price had a doctor give him a good going over as well, just in case the beating he'd gotten two nights earlier had done damage he hadn't noticed. The doctor wasn't pleased with his condition, but told him that other than some painful bruises, there wasn't anything seriously wrong. The doctor also made it clear how lucky he was the beating hadn't been any worse.

"You know," Price said as he drove through town on the way back, "we never finished our conversation we started on the train."

"Which one was that?" Maggie asked curiously.

"The one about school. Now that things are back to normal, you should go back." Price glanced over at the young woman in the passenger seat. She had a scowl on her face.

"I suppose I should at least finish the semester," she agreed. "No sense in wasting all that money."

"Aren't you going to finish school?" Price asked next.

"Of course I will," Maggie said decisively. "I've always wanted to get a degree." She was silent as she thought for a few long moments. "You know, it's crazy, but despite having three people trying to kill me these past few days, I've been happier since I came up to Maine than I have been in the last few months at school."

"You have gone through some pretty horrible stuff in the past year and a half," Price said. "Maybe it's finally taken it's toll on you_."_

"Maybe you're right," she said. She thought a moment. "And maybe it's more than that. Do you know what your father told me?"

"No, what?" Price asked curiously.

"He said the body they found at the warehouse, the one we thought was him, was actually my mother." Maggie tried hard, but she couldn't stop the few tears from escaping and trickling down her cheeks. Price reached over and picked up Maggie's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I miss my Mom," Maggie said, looking over at him. "I miss my family, and I nearly lost them all again." She pulled her hand away from him and turned to look out the window. 

The thought came to her that perhaps this wasn't the best thing to speak to Price about. True, he was very caring and concerned toward her, but his father had been the cause of much of her strife. It had to be hard to listen to her speaking so harshly about his own father. And what was worse, Connor Hovand's death had been a result of her actions. Price had told her not to think about that, but she couldn't help it. No matter how much Price said he hated his father, he was still Connor Hovand's son, and Connor Hovand had still been his father. He might not admit it, but Price was feeling the loss of his father all over again. This time, though, it was her fault and she hated how it made her feel.

*JQJQJQJQ*

When they returned to the Quest Compound, Maggie talked to her uncle in private in his study. When they finally came out for dinner, they received some curious glances. Both Dr. Quest and Maggie just returned those glances with smiles. All through dinner, neither said a word about what they had discussed. Benton was amused the way his family was squirming with curiosity. He was amazed they hadn't mentioned it or asked about it for as long as they had.

"I'm dyin' to know," Jonny burst out. "What was that whole 'speak in private' thing about?" Benton chuckled at his son.

"If you must know, we were discussing my higher education," Maggie said in exasperation.

"Is that all?" Jonny was disappointed. He thought it was something juicy.

"No, that's not all," Benton said. "We were going to save it for later, but now is as good a time as any. Maggie is going to be moving in with us after she finishes her spring semester. She's decided to take a break from school and spend some time with us." The others seated around the table looked to Maggie.

"To make a long story short, I'm lonely and unhappy at school. I went to Uncle Benton to talk some things over with him, and ask his advice. He suggested I take a break and then invited me to move into the compound. I thought it was a good idea, and agreed to stay."

"Slammin!" Jonny said.

"Thank god, another girl around here," Jessie declared.

The others laughed, and they began to discuss all the things they were going to do, now that Maggie would be around permanently.

*JQJQJQJQ*

A couple of days later, Jonny, Hadji, and Dr. Quest saw Maggie and Price off at the train station. Price had only two weeks left of his leave to visit his mother. Maggie had missed a week of school, and she needed to get back before falling behind. Maggie smiled and waved as the train pulled away from the platform. She didn't mind leaving right then, because she knew that the next time she saw her family, they would come to Acosta to bring her home with them to stay.

*JQJQJQJQ*


End file.
